If Only My Mother Could See Me Now
by miss Kittyplank
Summary: To Elizabeth's shock and even horror, she is pregnant...no thanks to a certain John Sheppard. The only problem is that John and Elizabeth aren't together. John/Elizabeth eventually. CHAPTER 20 IS UP! PLEASE CHECK IT OUT AND REVIEW!
1. Chapter 1

Not that I've abandoned my other story, but I've had an idea I've really wanted to work on for a while and the plot bunnies forced me to write a chapter. As it's the first chapter there's not a lot of action because I wanted to give the story background, but please review and hopefully enjoy xx

**Chapter 1:**

"Well...crap..." Elizabeth continued to stare at the two blue lines which appeared to be staring straight back. In Elizabeth's opinion, this day couldn't get any worse and these two seemingly inconsequential little blue lines were the cherries on the icing of her cake of disaster after disaster. She was pregnant.

She sat the test down gently on her nightstand and walked up to her window to admire the beauty of Atlantis whilst trying to understand how her life had come to this...if only her mother could see her now. Though Elizabeth was raised by upper-class liberals who, for many, kept too many friends of unsavoury backgrounds and encouraged their daughter to strive for a career of her own far too much, the Weirs' Irish catholic background couldn't help but shine through on the issues of marriage, sex and babies (believing that those three subjects should follow in that exact order.) But even when it had emerged that Billy Chadwick had 'popped her cherry', as her mother had phrased, in her senior high school year, it was always assumed that someday, once their little Lizzie had had her fill of the international relations and political treaties, she would find some nice guy, move in with him, get engaged, get married _and then_ get pregnant. That nice guy was Simon, but then the well-respected Dr. Weir got offered the chance of a lifetime: Atlantis. Simon simply couldn't compete.

For Atlantis, Elizabeth was willing to forgo marriage and babies. Sex, however, well, that was a little harder to give up. With life-sucking aliens and daily inter-galatical emergencies, one would assume there would be no time or need for sex, but, if anything, her constant work and frustrations only served to make her hornier and there are just some itches you can't scratch yourself properly no matter how hard you try. Mike Branton was a nice guy as was that chemist she went on a date with once and the marine she'd had a few flirtations with, but Elizabeth didn't need a 'nice guy', she needed a guy which was going to scratch her itch. "Pickings on Atlantis were slim", she said in complaint to John, during an unguarded moment over coffee in his rarely-used office.

"Pickings on Atlantis were slim..." Elizabeth mumbled to herself in remembrance and pinched the top of her nose; she could feel a headache coming on. Those five little words had led to those two little lines; John had given her a look – a look she was soon to become very used to – with such an open desire and want...and apparently for her. That day, he'd kissed her and she didn't stop him; they went from friends to friends 'with benefits' in an instant. It was fun and exciting and supposedly meaningless. Always in her quarters, John would leave straight after and they would act as if nothing had happened during the day. It was the perfect arrangement; Elizabeth got to get her release with someone she trusted and she found very attractive and John...well, she never was too sure what John profited from it. But then, somewhere along the line, things shifted. Sometimes they wouldn't have sex and just kiss and cuddle; John started actually sleeping over leaving just before the rest of the city woke up; they spent most of their free time together and ate almost every meal in each others' company as well. Without a conscious decision or acknowledgement made by either John or Elizabeth, they had somehow ended up dating.

Everyone else realised, of course. It was Atlantis; when you've only got the Die Hard movies, a couple of football games and When Harry Met Sally to watch, gossip soon becomes the main source of entertainment. But the gossip soon died down, as Elizabeth and John's work wasn't compromised and, if anything, the extra spring in the Colonel's step and Dr. Weir's obvious contentment generally improved everyone's mood.

...Until Rodney. A dog could've been born with more tact. "How's things with Katie?" She had queried over lunch with John's team whilst John was off training the new marines. He had nodded happily, if she remembered correctly. And then, without even thinking about it, he had casually asked back, "How's things with John?" How are things with _John_?! Elizabeth had been stunned and had to stop her jaw from dropping. People _knew_ about her and John having sex. If Rodney was aware, then everyone must be. She looked from Rodney to Teyla, who had seemed as if she was going to hit McKay for putting his foot in it, to Ronan, who somehow had mastered curiosity and boredom in one facial expression. She proceeded to put her Dr. Weir mask in place and went to reply, "Well, I don't..." She stopped. She then looked hard at Rodney; he didn't look smug, but was trying to look friendly and interested. Rodney had tried to practise social etiquette; she had asked about Katie and, in an attempt to be polite, he had asked about John. The wheels in her mind sluggishly turned over; Rodney thought John was to Elizabeth what he was to Katie. Rodney, and therefore so must everyone, thought John was her _boyfriend_.

Elizabeth walked away from her window, took off her boots and lay down on her bed. Staring at the ceiling, she remembered how, after that lunch, she had made her excuses and left to think. Elizabeth turned over and groaned into her pillow, who was she kidding, she had made her excuses and left to completely and utterly freak out. Berating herself for being distracted for some flyboy, Elizabeth couldn't believe she had put both their careers, not to mention Atlantis, in jeopardy and resolved to end whatever it was they had immediately. The so-called Friends With Benefits scheme had been as stupid as it sounded and now it was up to her to stop themselves before they did something even more stupid such as falling in love with each other. However, whilst a tigress in the global negotiations, Elizabeth recognised she was a coward when relationships were concerned - exhibit A: the video she left for Simon – and cruelly didn't address the subject with John, but stopped spending her free-time with him and avoided intimacy. Not her finest moment, but John took the hint and stopped visiting her quarters. He started having 'liasions' off-world again and now, according to Laura Cadman, he was apparently dating Mindy, or Mandy she couldn't remember, who's a nurse on Beckett's team. It had stung, far more than Elizabeth had expected or would care to admit to, but she resolutely believed it had been for the best and things slowly returned to normal. Almost. John only spoke to her over work matters now, no long looks or accidental hand-brushing as before this whole mess had started, but Elizabeth had accepted that it was no less than she deserved. Getting knocked up, however, she questioned whether she deserved that.

2 months had gone by since she'd last slept with John; she hadn't even noticed she had missed her period and she put her nausea down to the aftertaste of dealing with the IOA. The IOA, she thought grimly, were going to just love this. She groaned again, the idea of explaining all this to Earth sent the room around her spinning; she sat up quickly and ran to the bathroom before empting the contents of her stomach into the toilet. How was she supposed to lead Atlantis with a baby, assuming, of course, she would even decide to keep the baby. All the choices and decisions ahead of her caused her to hurl again. If she wasn't being sick she probably would have laughed. Karma certainly had a sense of humour; she had her head in the loo whilst John was probably fucking Mandy/Mindy. It was Saturday night, after all. She activated the flush and tiredly rested her head back on the cool bathroom wall. Yes, she thought grimly once more, if only her mother could see her now.


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks for the reviews and please continue to review; I love to hear what you all think. Here's the next chapter!

**Chapter 2:**

"Well, love...you're pregnant." Carson announced looking down Elizabeth's chart as she sat on the gurney, her legs dangling off the side. Elizabeth sighed, she hadn't really expected the pregnancy test she'd stolen from the infirmary supplies to be wrong, but Carson's confirmation made everything sound so...real. Carson searched her face for a reaction; she merely stared ahead. "Elizabeth, did you hear me? I said that you're-"

"-pregnant, yes I heard you." Elizabeth interrupted, snapping out of her daze. She shook her head, despite taking the test a week ago, she still couldn't believe this was happening to her.

Getting the distinct impression Elizabeth wanted to escape the infirmary and be alone, Carson coughed awkwardly and made his way over to one of the medical cabinets. "Well, I've got some pre-natal vitamins here which I ordered last time we were on Earth, I thought it might only be a matter of time before people started pairing off; we're like a colony more than anything else, don't you think?" Carson's question was rhetorical; he was babbling. A more collected Elizabeth might have eased his obvious discomfort, but Elizabeth felt more like crawling into a hole and never coming out. "So, I'll give you these and, as far as the nausea goes, it should pass within a month or two – you've passed the half-way point of the first trimester already...alright?"

"Thanks, Carson." She answered softly, taking the tablets out of his hand and getting up to leave.

Carson smiled. "It's what I'm here for. Now, you come back in a couple of weeks and we'll check everything is going to plan, I-" he stopped himself, a thought seeming to pop into his head. "You want to keep the baby, I assume?"

Elizabeth's eyes snapped to his. "Well, I guess that...maybe...I haven't really thought this through Carson..." She looked for an expression of judgment in his face, but she only saw sympathy. She tried to smile, but found herself bursting into tears.

Shocked by such an unusual display of emotion, Carson motioned her to sit back down on the bed and dragged his stool to sit in front of her. "Don't worry lass, you've got time to decide and, no matter what your decision, I'll support you completely." Carson leaned in further. "Have you told John yet?" Elizabeth wiped the tears from her cheeks with her hands and used her thumb to wipe under her eyes to get rid of any mascara. She sniffed once more, her tears gone and her eyes now dry.

She tried for humour. "How do you know I'm not having Zelenka's baby?"

Carson graciously chuckled. "If you're having Radek's lovechild then I'm the Queen of England."

Elizabeth gave a half-smile and then sighed once more. "No, I haven't told him yet, but I will. It's Sunday, so it's his day off; I checked his quarters this morning and he wasn't there." She shrugged.

"Aah..." replied Carson nervously, scratching the back of his neck, "I think he's on the mainland for the day."

"Oh, really? Who with?" As soon as she asked the question she knew the answer. "Mindy, right?"

"Who? No, he's with Mandy." Carson sighed consolingly. Elizabeth mentally kicked herself; she could form and remember hour-long political speeches, but couldn't remember one woman's name.

"Right, well I'll just wait until he gets back; I've got a lot of thinking to do anyway." Elizabeth stood up and nervously smoothed down her blouse; her red top abandoned on her day off. Carson nodded again; his obvious sympathy starting to make Elizabeth feel awkward. "Thank you and I would really appreciate if you-"

"Won't say a word." Carson mimed zipping up his lips. "You can count on me."

"Good, great...thanks." She smiled in gratitude and headed out of the infirmary; the weight of the world on her shoulders.

* * *

In a need to find someone to bounce her thought off of, Elizabeth ended up outside Teyla's quarters. Teyla, of course, could always be the calm voice of reason needed, clearly capable of looking at a situation from many viewpoints whilst resolutely remaining optimistic. More than that, however, Teyla was somebody who just understood; as a leader and as a woman Teyla could truly empathise with Elizabeth and slowly the two women had developed a wonderful friendship which they cherished dearly.

"Elizabeth, it is so nice to see you." Teyla said in surprise after opening the door. "Please come in."

Elizabeth followed Teyla into her room; it was neat yet homely, luxurious yet not pretentious, all at the same time. Her walls were covered in Athosian paintings and wall hangings, whilst her floor harboured rugs and pillows with candles dotted in various places. Elizabeth paced nervously; the room did nothing to calm her. Although Elizabeth's office was neat, her room was not. With clothes thrown about and books everywhere, it was her space to just let go of Dr. Weir and be Elizabeth. Dr. Weir was someone who was smart, proper, calm, even elegant and authoritative; Elizabeth was prone to wearing her hair in a scruffy ponytail and messy eating. Elizabeth stood still and, wringing her hands in agitation, looked around the room. This was the sort of room you could bring a baby back to, soft but durable; somehow Elizabeth thought her room was just harder, the room of a career woman – a room full of corners.

"Babies and sharp corners don't mix." Elizabeth announced as if her mental light bulb had just switched on. Teyla raised an inquisitive eyebrow, worried by her usually composed friend's behaviour. Elizabeth took the eyebrow for scepticism. "No I'm serious, they do not mix...not at all."

Not knowing how to address that comment, Teyla motioned for Elizabeth to sit down on her rug, Teyla brought over the tea she had just been brewing with two small tea bowls before joining her on the floor. She poured out the tea; it was a fragrant Athosian blend, taken strong designed to calm and help with meditation.

"Perhaps you could start from the beginning." Telya smiled, handing Elizabeth her bowl.

Elizabeth accepted it and blew on the hot tea. She took a moment to collect her thoughts. Another trait the two women shared was the ability to see through deception; there was no point to lie and Teyla would be offended if she did so consciously.

"I'm pregnant." Teyla's face was carefully neutral, sensing that Elizabeth's feelings were not entirely positive.

"You are with child; many would say this is a great gift. How do you feel about it?" Teyla sipped her tea.

"That we should have used a condom." Elizabeth muttered wryly. She shook her head, almost unconsciously. "I just don't understand how this happened...I mean I know _how _but these are just not the circumstances I wanted to have children. I didn't even know if I wanted children! I still don't! People do not have babies like this!" Her outburst made her spill some of the hot tea on her hand. "Shit." Elizabeth stood up and placed the tea on Teyla's nightstand. Feeling like she was on the point of stamping her foot, Elizabeth tried to count to ten in head and heavily sat down on Telya's bed. "People do not have babies like this." She reaffirmed. "I'm not supposed to be confused; I should be happy - and on good terms with the father! The father of my child should not be off somewhere unconcerned and none the wiser with some blonde named Mindy whilst I'm here..." Elizabeth's voice softened, her posture losing its rigidness "... alone, terrified of the fact that I have a room full of corners and I don't know how to factor a baby into my life." She looked at Teyla, questions across her tired face, needing answers.

Telya smiled, unfazed by Elizabeth's rant. "No woman does, but then a baby is a born and you are no longer just a woman, but a mother."

Elizabeth frowned and shrugged helplessly. "...but it's not supposed to be like this. I never wanted the whole 'house with the white picket fence' dream in family suburbia, but it's not supposed to be...this."

Teyla kept smiling, put down her tea and sat next to Elizabeth on the bed; her knowing eyes confronting Elizabeth's lack of self-belief. "Often we believe things are not supposed to happen, but fate has other plans. According to you, Earth wasn't _supposed _to be round for centuries, yet it was found to be, aliens were not _supposed_ to exist and yet, you know, they most certainly do and you were not _supposed _to be a leader of others and yet you are and do so very well." She laid a comforting hand over Elizabeth's fidgeting ones as silent tears started to roll down the older woman's face. "Perhaps you believe you were not _supposed_ to be a mother and that babies should not be born in conditions such as these, but the reality is that you are going to have a child and honestly, I think your baby could not find a better mother."

"You think that I can do this?" Elizabeth whispered, her confidence in the balance.

Teyla chuckled softly. "Lesser women than you have for thousands and thousands of years, Elizabeth."

Elizabeth turned to look Teyla in the eye, the younger woman did not doubt her strength for a moment. Of course, in the Pegasus, with the constant threat of the Wraith, the idea of terminating a pregnancy was unheard of and had not once been mentioned in their conversation. In fact, Elizabeth had not thought of it once; it hadn't crossed her mind. She was not pregnant, she was, as Telya said, 'with child' and she was the mother of that child. She knew in that moment that she would keep the baby. Easier said than done, Elizabeth thought dryly.

"Thank you Teyla." Elizabeth smiled genuinely for the first time in days.

"For what? I was merely informing you of what you already knew." Telya grinned.

Elizabeth merely shook her head. "Fine. Now..." She said, picking up her tea bowl and eager to talk about something else, too emotionally drained to discuss herself any longer. "Let's discuss something else, what is this I hear about you and a certain Kanaan of Athos?" Elizabeth wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

Teyla narrowed her eyes. "You should not listen so much to the ramblings of Lt. Cadman."

Elizabeth grinned, silently thanking Teyla's compliance with changing the topic of conversation without asking questions.

"No actually, John happened to mention his suspicions to Ronan and I may have been slightly eavesdropping." Her good mood quickly dampened by her mention of John.

Teyla tilted her head, guessing Elizabeth's thoughts. "He will be understanding, Elizabeth; John will only react badly if you keep secrets. Tell him when he comes back from the mainland with... 'some blonde named Mindy.'" Teyla grinned.

Elizabeth looked sheepish. "Yeah, sorry, I was venting. I'm sure she's very nice; who knows, she could end up filling the role of stepmother one day..." She trailed off, that thought leaving a bad taste in her mouth.

"Mmm...perhaps," Teyla shrugged, "...but who is this Mindy? Has she recently been transferred from Earth?"

Elizabeth frowned for only a moment, before realisation dawned."Oh what the fuck!! Mandy! Her name is MANDY!!! What is wrong with me?!"

TBC....


	3. Chapter 3

Thank you for your reviews!! Keep 'em coming!!

**Chapter 3:**

Spotting Teyla, Laura Cadman and Katie Brown sitting at their own table, Elizabeth stormed over to join them. Katie jumped slightly as Elizabeth heavily dumped her breakfast tray down on the table and sat down.

Laura raised her eyebrows at Elizabeth's obviously foul mood. "Something wrong?"

Elizabeth scowled as she ripped her yogurt lid off the container. "I'm pregnant – could you do me a favour and go tell five of your friends and have them tell five of their friends and so on until it reaches John and I don't have to tell him myself?"

Teyla, who was opposite her, looked at Elizabeth sternly. "You have not told him yet?" She reprimanded.

"No I have not." Elizabeth retorted, ignoring the shocked looks of the two women beside them.

Teyla heaved a sigh. "Elizabeth," she said patiently as if talking to a child, "you must go to his quarters and inform him; he has a right to know."

"No no no...I'm not going back there, never again, not after last night." Elizabeth shook her head vehemently.

Laura shook off her surprise of the situation to ask, "And what happened last night?"

"When I got to his quarters, it wasn't John who answered but that Nurse Barton who _kindly_ informed me that John was in the _shower_ and not available." Elizabeth explained through a mouthful of yogurt; when stressed food etiquette seemed to evaporate quickly.

"Oh Mandy?" Katie smiled, apparently oblivious to Elizabeth's unjustified dislike of the nurse. "Well she's very nice! Always smiling, very pretty; apparently she was very helpful in-"

"Oh yeah!" Elizabeth snapped. "She's a real southern belle! 'I'm sorry Dr. Weir,'" said Elizabeth, adopting a southern lilt and fake smile, "'but John's showering, would you like me to pass on a message?' There she was all blonde and gorgeous with a mega-watt smile and a flawless complexion and then there was me all...freckly and frazzled... more than ten years her senior, with my breasts throbbing in pain and with a powerful urge to throw up my dinner! She looked like she should be on the cover of magazine and I resembled one of those middle-aged women you see on Oprah who are trying to...'embrace the beautiful woman' inside themselves..."

"Wow..." Laura's eyes widened. "Somebody definitely woke up on the wrong side of her bed this morning."

Deflated, Elizabeth sat down her spoon. "I know, I'm sorry; she's perfectly lovely." Elizabeth said, bitterly. "She happily invited me to 'call me Mindy', but it just threw me off seeing her there." Elizabeth shrugged, not even registering the correcting chorus of 'Mandy' from around the table. "I had this whole speech prepared because, every since I found out about this baby, I have been freaking out and crying and yelling at the drop of the hat and I wanted to explain the situation as concisely and accurately as possible."

"You could just spring it on him, like you did with us." Laura grinned, peeling her banana.

"Nah, lacks originality." Elizabeth grinned back.

Katie smiled sweetly. "Congratulations, Elizabeth."

Elizabeth looked nonplussed; she raised an eyebrow. "On what?"

Laura playfully slapped her on the arm, laughing. "On the baby, of course! Geez, I thought you had a PHD..."

"Huh, right...congratulations..." Elizabeth repeated, as if trying out how the word sounded. Katie was right; having a baby was a wonderful thing, something to celebrate. She smiled at the women at her table; over the last year, Teyla and herself had developed a close relationship with the botanist and marine ever since Laura had kissed Carson...through Rodney's body. The more boisterous Laura could always be counted on to make her smile and the more naturally subdued Katie had the ability to be very kind and generous. The four women had formed a close bond and spent a lot of their out-of-work hours watching movies and playing poker. She was having a baby and that really was fantastic, thankfully she had good friends to remind her of that.

Laura waved a hand over Elizabeth's face drawing her out of her contemplations, laughing softly. "Congratulations are kind of the status quo for news like that."

Elizabeth smiled. "Yes, you're right...now," she licked the last of her yogurt of the spoon, "would you be a dear and go tell John the news?"

"Elizabeth..." Telya replied warningly.

"Oh I know, I'll tell him later..." Elizabeth yielded, in the full knowledge that John's team were about to gear up for a routine mission within the hour.

"Now, Elizabeth." Teyla said firmly.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "Fine. I'll go _now_...and people say I can get cranky..."

* * *

"You wanted to see me, Dr. Weir?" John tapped on her door in greeting, all geared up for their mission. Elizabeth inwardly sighed, noticing how he still hadn't dropped the formalities ever since she had distanced herself from him. Seeing as they were going to be having a baby together, she had hoped they could go back to being on a first-name basis.

"Yeees..." Elizabeth drawled out nervously rising from her desk. "Can we speak privately please?"

John frowned. "Aren't we doing that right now?"

"I suppose, but...well, these walls don't really block out noise and they're sort of, well _entirely_ see-through so I was hoping we could speak on the balcony, just for a moment." She felt she was rambling, which made her even more nervous. She suddenly felt claustrophobic and he wasn't saying anything; just looking at her and frowning.

"Look..." He started, taking a step forward, "I think I know what this is about. Mandy told me about last night."

Elizabeth coughed nervously. "Who?" She blurted; he raised an annoyed eyebrow. She clicked instantly. "Oh right, _Mandy_..."

"Don't say her name like that." John frowned,_ again_, grumpily.

Elizabeth gave another small cough; she was felt dehydrated and couldn't concentrate on what he was saying. "What? No...no, I didn't say it like anything. It's just that I keep...well, I keep forgetting that...that's her name...it's Mandy." She closed one eye briefly trying to put the room into focus, it seemed to be spinning. "Do you like...are you and her...close?"

John scratched the back of his neck in irritation. "Liz, _don't_, okay. She's my girlfriend, you know that and I know that you know that."

"Don't call me Liz, I never liked that...I don't like that." She groaned in frustration. "Is it me or is it really hot in here?"

"Don't change the subject, _Doctor."_ He said pointedly. "You don't get to be hurt or angry or be in pain because you moved on, remember! I'm just following your good example." He said bitterly, unaware to Elizabeth's obvious discomfort, physically and at the turn of the conversation.

Elizabeth sighed. "Alright, I'm sorry, Mind-" She clamped her mouth shut and resisted the strong impulse to slap herself around the face. "Mandy, your girlfriend, seems wonderful..._is_ wonderful. I'm happy that you've found someone." John looked disbelieving; she rolled her eyes. "Okay, not exactly, but...I'm happy if you're happy..." Elizabeth offered sincerely.

"Really?" He questioned.

She nodded eagerly, fighting the urge to throw up.

John gave a small smile; the first smile she had seen directed at her in months. "Thank you." And with those two words, something horrible and negative which had been lingering over the pair of them ever since Elizabeth shut him out started to fade just a little. The two of them stared at each other; one willing the other to understand and the other trying to understand.

"Anyway..." John broke eye contact. "What did you want to talk about?"

"Oh yes, I wanted to..." The room seemed to spin faster now. "You need to know that I'm going to have..." She trailed off, gripping the edge of her desk for balance.

"Elizabeth?" John questioned, worryingly.

Elizabeth only had a fleeting moment to realise that he used her first name before she collapsed.

TBC...


	4. Chapter 4

Thank you for the reviews, I love hearing about your favourite lines and parts; more reviews are always welcome and a great incentive for me to hurry up with the next chapter!  This isn't such a really long chapter, but it came to a natural end of scene so I hope you enjoy!!

**Chapter 4:**

When Elizabeth opened her eyes, she immediately knew where she was; the blinding lights of the infirmary forced her to wince and shut her eyes again. Slowly opening them once more, she saw Teyla sitting by her left side, Carson standing to her right and Ronan leaning against the wall on the opposite side of the infirmary.

"How are you feeling, Elizabeth?" Teyla laid a comforting hand on Elizabeth's arm.

"Tired and thirsty." Elizabeth replied, gently sitting herself upright against the pillows as Teyla handed her a cup of water.

"Well lass, I'm not surprised you're worn out – when was the last time you had a full eight hours sleep or more?" Carson questioned, looking seriously displeased.

"Uh..." Elizabeth shifted nervously. "I've been a little occupied recently so probably not for a while..."

"I see, and when was the last time you ate three full meals a day?" Carson asked, sternly. Elizabeth's face immediately betrayed the negative answer. "Elizabeth..." Carson reprimanded. "You're eating for two now, you can't afford to cut back on food or sleep; if you need rest, then rest. Understand."

"Carson," nodding her head towards the presence of Ronan.

The doctor waved a hand dismissively. "He already knows you're expecting." He said impatiently, not wanting to deviate from the topic at hand.

Elizabeth's eyes widened. "You told him?!"

"No," Ronan smirked, "I just overhead Beckett telling Sheppard."

Elizabeth's eyes somehow widened further. "You told John?!" She shouted. "Great, where's Rodney so we can share the happy news with him too!"

Carson sighed, irritated. "I wouldn't have had to, if you had properly looked after yourself and the wee little one. You were _unconscious;_ he was terrified. When I calmly told him it was due to exhaustion and not entirely unexpected in your condition, he demanded to know what I meant. I _thought_ you had already told him."

"Well, I was in the middle of telling him...and then I fainted..." Elizabeth tried to defend herself, but Carson looked thoroughly unimpressed. "Well, where he is then?"

Teyla sighed. "He said he needed to be alone, needed to think; I am sure he is fine."

Elizabeth smiled sadly. "Of course he's not fine, he's just found out I'm having his baby."

"Could be worse." Ronan offered; Elizabeth raised a doubtful eyebrow. "Rodney hasn't found out yet."

"Mmm...once he finds out, everyone will know." Carson commented.

"Everyone will find out eventually." Teyla pointed out.

Ronan leant away from the wall. "Will Earth be okay with this?"

"Okay with what?" Rodney asked, as he walked into the infirmary.

Elizabeth sighed. "I hate my life..."

* * *

When she was finally let out of the infirmary, on the strictest orders not return to work for a few days and take it easy, Elizabeth strolled around the city to stretch her legs, but also to look for John. He still hadn't reappeared since she had woken up. Ronan had helpfully suggested that maybe he'd jumped off one of the balconies, but Elizabeth was hoping the idea of becoming a dad hadn't driven John to suicide. Nevertheless, Elizabeth was checking each balcony as she wandered Atlantis' halls. Finally, as Atlantis' sun started to set, she found John leaning against the railings of a small balcony on the West Pier. Wrapping her long cardigan around herself, she walked through the balcony doors, and tentatively took a few steps forward; a slight turn of his head was the only indication he had noticed her presence.

Mustering a little more courage, she walked up to the railing and stood beside him; his eyes resolutely focused on the sunset.

"I was going to tell you myself but-" Elizabeth started.

"It's okay." John interrupted, still looking at the horizon.

"No, it's not." Elizabeth said firmly. "I should have told you sooner, you should have been the first to know...it's just that-"

"I've been a bastard to you these last few weeks, I know." He finished.

"No actually, and if you had, it would have been no less than I deserved. I was-"

John finally turned to face her, "You are too hard on yourself."

"And you have a tendency to interrupt." Elizabeth snapped, instantly regretting it when John looked down at the ground, ashamed. "I'm sorry, it's just I've had a whole speech planned for a really long time which has constantly been stalled. First, admittedly, by my cowardice, then a shower, followed by a fainting spell and now...you. So can I just say what I want to say without any input, please?" Elizabeth smiled apologetically.

John smirked and nodded. "Sure."

"Okay. The first bit of the speech was the announcement of me being pregnant, but since you know that already, I'll just cut ahead." Elizabeth took a deep breath to calm herself. John resisted grinning; he'd never seen her look so nervous. "So, I've decided that I want this baby and I'm going to do my best to be a good mother. Now, I don't expect anything from you. If you don't want anything to do with this, then that is perfectly okay and I will harbour no ill feelings towards you. But, if you do want to fulfil the position of dad, then that's okay as well. Thing is, though, I don't know how the IOA are going to take this and I may well be fired, as may you, so that's something else to think about...but we'll just cross that bridge when we come to it." She was rambling and berated herself on possibly the worst speech, short as it was, she had ever made. She looked at him anxiously; his face was carefully blank. "Sooo...in conclusion, I'm having a baby, it's yours, whether you want to be involved is your choice and there is a significant risk of losing our jobs...so yeah."

There was a long pause before John nodded. "Is input allowed now?" He grinned.

Elizabeth smiled, relieved. "Yes, sure, please."

"The first bit of the speech was going to be me reacting to your pregnancy news, but since I've already done the whole 'shock- confusion-freak out' thing in the privacy of this balcony, I'll just cut ahead." Elizabeth rolled her eyes at his typical behaviour, whilst inwardly thanking him for acting so calm and normal. But then John's usual flippant demeanour suddenly became serious. "I didn't know how I felt about any of this until the moment you said 'I want this baby', because as soon as you said that, I felt...relieved and um..." he swallowed, "..happy and realised that I want this baby too." John paused, allowing Elizabeth to let that sink in; she smiled shyly. "I didn't have a great relationship with dad, Elizabeth, and I always promised myself that if I ever had kids, I'd be different and I _want_ to be different. I can't not be involved - I can't even be one of those Sunday dads who see their kids here and there; I'm all in. Late night bottle feeds, diaper changing...you name it and I'm there, got it?"

Elizabeth nodded slightly.

"Are you sure? Because I could give you a conclusion too if you want?" John smiled.

Elizabeth shook her head and whispered. "Thank you, John."

"For what? Wanting to fulfil the position of dad to _your_ kid? _Our_ kid? Please..." He leaned forward. "...It'll be my pleasure." He said gently.

She knew that more needed to be said and was aware that he knew that wasn't what she was thanking him for, but it didn't matter. As the last rays of sunshine faded away, she didn't even notice the tears of happiness spring from her eyes and couldn't help the laugh that escaped her, that feeling of being alone that hadn't left her since she first saw those two blue lines on that pregnancy test was over and had been replaced with something new and exciting; she was going to have a child with the most amazing of men and, whilst he may not be _her_ man anymore, he was still her best friend.

TBC...


	5. Chapter 5

Please review!! And enjoy!!

**Chapter 5:**

_5 weeks later..._

"So I'm thinking we'll put the crib over here..." John pointed out to the small alcove in Elizabeth's room, "...just for the time being, and then, with my free time I can do up one of the double rooms so you and him or her are sharing a sort of apartment set-up and I'll use a room nearby, but don't worry because I've picked out rooms near the transporter in case of emergency and with a great sea view. It'll be perfect!..."

And so John continued. Being renowned as a woman who was usually calm and centred and, knowing John was the sort to panic when confronted with commitment, Elizabeth had assumed John would be the unhinged parent-to-be; she was still waiting for him to do something mind-numbingly stupid in order to avoid the whole situation, but John had been _amazing_. He had been helpful, attentive, kind and caring for the last five weeks, however as Elizabeth put her feet up on her bed and tried to concentrate on what he was saying, the urge to take her pillow and smother him was becoming strong, made stronger as she approached the second trimester. Just under 4 months pregnant, Elizabeth knew it was only a matter of time before her bump began to become noticeable and everybody would find out; Rodney was already starting to get suspicious. Nurse Barton - Elizabeth couldn't bring herself to refer to the woman as John's girlfriend - was also starting to wonder at the two leaders' rediscovered friendship. However, if Barton was jealous, her plan was to kill Elizabeth with kindness, because the nurse had been nothing but friendly... sickeningly so. Elizabeth sighed as John continued to think out loud about how to decorate the nursery, unwilling to burst his bubble that the chances were she would be sent back to Earth; Atlantis was no place for a baby.

"John, I think that it's time that people were aware of our situation." Elizabeth announced, interrupting John mid-sentence; he spun away from the wall he was facing and nodded with anticipation.

"Yeah, I think it's about time. I'll just tell McKay and then he'll inform the rest of the city's population in that understated way that he does..." John grinned.

"Sounds good." Elizabeth grinned back. "However..." she sobered, crossing her arms over her chest, "...I think that, beforehand, you need to address all of this with um...Mandy."

John blinked. "Mandy?"

Elizabeth closed her eyes and let her head fall against the headboard. "I got her name wrong again, didn't I?"

John smirked and stepped forward. "No you actually you got it right, hence my surprise."

Elizabeth opened her eyes and raised an amused eyebrow. "Hence?"

"Hey!" John feigned offence. "I can use 'hence' and who are you to judge, it's taken you over a month to remember one woman's name!"

Elizabeth held a finger up, "_But..._as you just witnessed, I _do_ now know her name and you know what that is? That's growth."

"Growth?" John smiled doubtfully.

"I'm the mother of your unborn child, if I say it's growth, then it's growth." Elizabeth smiled and got up from the bed, surveying the spot where he wanted to put the crib.

"Gotcha...so what were you saying about Mandy?" John enquired.

Elizabeth coughed nervously and faced him. "Oh...just that she deserves answers...I mean you've been spending all this time with me and putting my needs first, so it's probably best to put her out of her misery."

"I was thinking the same thing, actually; I'll tell her tonight." John nodded.

"Oh, okay..." Elizabeth said, taken aback by his eagerness, "Do you want to tell her alone or d'you want me to come?"

John frowned. "Most people don't like audiences when they're getting broken up with..."

Elizabeth's eyes narrowed, confused as to what John was talking about. "Broken up with? I don't...you're going to break up with her?! What?! Why?!" She said, shocked.

John wiped a hand over his tired face, sensing Elizabeth was nearing another sudden mood swing. "You just agreed with me; I'm putting her out of her misery, like you said."

Elizabeth threw her hands up in the air, aware that her hormones were getting the better of her. "As in 'tell her I'm pregnant', not as in 'dump her'! Why would you break up with Little Miss Perfect? I thought you were loved Mindy?!"

John groaned. "Her name is MANDY!! I'm just trying to focus on what's important at the moment and that's you and the baby!"

Elizabeth shook her head vehemently. "No no NO! John, you can't do that! You can't go changing your life for me! The baby, yes, but me, no! Your list should be baby, _then_ girlfriend and then _maybe_ me afterwards somewhere, not baby _then_ me! You can't!"

"WHY NOT?!" John bellowed.

"Because it's too much pressure..." Elizabeth tried to lower her voice, but her earlier shouting had, unsurprisingly, set John off.

"Too much pressure! ...Is that why you pushed me away and near enough spat on what we had?!" She recoiled at where this conversation was going. "Because you simply couldn't handle it?! You never let anyone in, do you? You just prefer to play the cold, heartless boss instead of actually going with how you feel! Thank God you are knocked up because at least your heightened hormones force you to show some fucking emotion!"

"Don't start with me, John! You think I'm fucked up?! At least I address our genuine concerns _now_ instead of trying to paint this... rosy picture of how it's going to be!" She gesticulated wildly. "I know you don't want a repeat of your childhood, but you're _deluded_ if you think that we're going to be able to stay on Atlantis and play happy damn families! You want our kid to be raised _here_, really?! What about school? What about meeting kids the same age? You keeping saying 'we'll work it out', but how John?! At some point the needs of Atlantis and our child are going to come into conflict, then what are you going to do? You think I'm cold and heartless? Fine! But sometimes you need to keep a distance to get some perspective! I _love_ Atlantis, but I love what is growing inside of me more; what do you love John?!... Huh?!" Elizabeth provoked.

"I LOVED YOU!!" John roared.

Elizabeth was stunned into silence; the quiet filled only by John's heavy breathing, but it appeared all his anger was spent. He went to open his mouth again, his face apologetic, but evidently decided against it and clenched his jaw stubbornly, his posture rigid and full of tension. He waited only a few more moments, before briskly exiting her room. She thought she'd be crying, but instead she felt merely numb. He thought she didn't care, that she had been cold, but the truth was that Elizabeth had come to realise that she had been falling in love with John and chose to resist. In the end, her sense of duty and love for Atlantis had won out and John had been left wounded, but it was only with his confession, that she realised how deeply she had cut him all those months ago. He was hurting right now, but Elizabeth again resisted her inner desire to run after him and declare her feelings; her common sense telling her that she couldn't afford to take a chance on John and he could probably do better than her. Though it killed her to see him with other women, particularly _the nurse_, she knew that their child needed stability, not two parents who were in a state of love limbo. _No_, she convinced herself, massaging her temples in an attempt to dull her headache, _their ship had sailed_.

* * *

"He said what?" Laura delved her hand back into the popcorn bowl. The four women had booked the Rec room to watch Top Gun, but so far Tom Cruise had been completely ignored in favour of discussing Elizabeth's argument with John.

Elizabeth sighed. "That he loved me..."

"Wow...what did you say?" Katie enquired, sitting cross-legged on the floor facing Laura and Elizabeth on the sofa.

"Um...nothing. What was there to say?" Elizabeth said rhetorically, shrugging.

"Oh I don't know...anything! Like 'yuck, we should just be friends' or... 'no thank you, I'm really a lesbian' or... 'I love you too' – you flinched!"

"What?" Elizabeth said, exasperated.

"When I said ' I love you too', you totally flinched!" Laura pointed at her accusingly with a mouthful of popcorn.

Elizabeth looked to Teyla for support. Teyla smiled smugly. "I knew it."

Elizabeth groaned as the other women started giggling. "You have to tell him." Laura practically ordered.

"No way...he said '_loved_'-past tense - we need to move on; he likes Mandy and I like being pregnant _alone_...my room with all the corners can only deal with one thing at a time..." Her eyes betrayed that her feelings and wants were not so clear-cut, but the others sensed she'd had enough of confrontation for today.

"Room with all the corners?" Laura whispered to Katie in confusion.

"So, he's not breaking up with her then?" Teyla enquired, snatching the bowl away from a greedy Laura.

"Well it's none of my business, but I don't think so...she came to see me just before I came over here." Elizabeth nodded as Laura's jaw dropped.

"He told her about the baby?" Katie questioned, surprised.

Elizabeth grinded her teeth. "Well, it was _my_ suggestion."

"And?" Laura demanded impatient for more details, snatching the popcorn back.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "She was, _yet again_, disgustingly lovely. I'm having her _boyfriend's baby_ and she's hugging me, telling me she's so thrilled and that she's going to help me and John with everything from now to the birth and beyond!!" She said with sarcastic delight, grinning from ear to ear.

"That is most strange." Teyla frowned.

"Eew, what is wrong with her?" Laura muttered.

"She's really nice once you get to know her-" Katie interjected.

"Oh she's nice, so nice, _too_ nice..." Elizabeth sighed. "She puts the Stepford wives to shame and then someday she'll marry John and my baby and I will be stuck with her forever." Laura couldn't help but shiver at that comment.

"Well..." said Katie, positively, "...at least you called her Mandy this time."

"That's true and, speaking of someone who seldom gets other people's names right, can you tell Rodney I'm pregnant and get him spreading the word; I don't want to make an announcement until Earth finds out and I want to avoid the 'is she just fat?' speculation." Elizabeth smiled ruefully, whilst Laura laughed and Teyla looked on amused.

"No problem." Katie giggled. "You know, Mandy could prove to be very helpful, actually."

"How?" Teyla asked leaning back against her chair.

"She's a trained midwife..." Katie supplied causing Laura to start choking on popcorn.

"Huh, have Mandy deliver my baby..." she pretended to ponder on that idea, "...now all I need is for my mother to be my birthing partner and I think my life would be complete."

TBC...


	6. Chapter 6

Glad you like it so far and I really appreciate the reviews because they show me which parts you particularly like which influences me when I write the next chapter. So enjoy!

**Chapter 6:**

"- and so that's why I'm really here, because Teyla says you're really insightful about... stuff and I really need to know how to make things right, as we're having a baby together so John being mad at me and my big mouth all the time isn't good..." Elizabeth laughed uncomfortably before trailing off, carefully watching Kate's face to see if there was any reaction. John hadn't spoken to Elizabeth for a few days now and she hadn't approached him for fear of making the situation worse; any communication needed had been made through _Mandy_. That alone was enough for Elizabeth to seek others' help on the matter and Teyla continually suggested that Elizabeth visit the office of her good friend, Dr. Heightmeyer, not just in regards to her strained relationship with John, but to properly wrap her head around the idea of being mother, an idea that Elizabeth still hadn't fully come to grips with.

Elizabeth wasn't a fan of psychiatrists, however. Her mother had relied on them for years, but Elizabeth didn't see any change in her as a result, only thousands of dollars being spent in order to talk _at_ someone; she was still the same-old _mom, _sweet and understanding one moment and overbearing and judgmental the next. Elizabeth preferred conversations that were two-sided and excelled at reading _other_ people's feelings and thoughts, it was why she made such an excellent negotiator; in her limited experience, psychiatrists tended to say little and give nothing away. Kate appeared to be the same.

"So, you're going to have a baby. How do you feel about that?" Kate enquired, sitting in the armchair opposite Elizabeth, legs crossed and Elizabeth's file perched open on her knee.

Elizabeth sighed. "Well...at first, I was terrified, unsurprisingly, but I've got used to the idea now; I'm even excited about it." She smiled nervously; Kate was silent. "I know my child won't exactly have the most normal childhood, but normality can be overrated. All that matters is that he or she is loved; I can do that and John's in love with this baby already." She smiled.

"What would you consider to be a normal childhood then?" Kate enquired.

"One without life-sucking aliens." Elizabeth joked; she swallowed anxiously as Kate's face remained blank. "Uh, I guess that I consider my own childhood to be what I perceive as the norm. You know, parents happily married, mum at home and dad out at work in the city, sometimes travelling, living in suburbia, going to the local school, joining after-school clubs...maybe being a little rebellious in the teenage years, but eventually working hard to graduate well from high school..." Elizabeth frowned at how incredibly dull and yet wonderful that sounded.

Kate tilted her head to the side. "Is that what you had?"

"Sort of. My dad was a big-shot lawyer so I was fortunate enough to go to the best schools and do more than my fair share of extra-curricular activities; I had ballet lessons, violin and piano lessons, sport and language tutors...and I was blessed to have parents instilled in me a good set of morals and who believed it was important to have a strong work ethic." Elizabeth answered warily, wondering what information Kate could unlock from her childhood.

"Mmm, and do you know what sort of childhood John had?" Kate innocently questioned.

Elizabeth shrugged helplessly. "He's not particularly forth coming about his past, but I got the impression that his relationship with his father was difficult, he moved around a lot as a kid... I know he has a brother, I think, Dan...no Dave that's it, and, as for his mother, I have absolutely no idea...but that's just something he mentioned over coffee one time so..."

"He's revealed to you more about his childhood over one coffee break then to me over every session I've forced him to go over the last three years." Kate commented, smiling softly.

Elizabeth nodded, completely unsure how to respond to that statement.

"Do you and John want normality, Elizabeth?"

Elizabeth bit her lip, pensively. "I know John does; he's _so_ enthusiastic about this baby and he has worked out which rooms can be used as family quarters and he's already thought about how we would school him or her...here. And I want normality."

Kate tilted her head again. "You paused before 'here.'"

"I was taking a breath?" Elizabeth tried.

Kate smiled. "You do not necessarily perceive Atlantis as the only option. You want a _different_ sort of normality." Both were statements, not questions. Elizabeth said nothing. "You told me you considered your own childhood to be the norm...your first words detailing your childhood were 'parents happily married'."

Elizabeth inwardly groaned; Kate's ability to remember previous words from the conversation put her on edge, she might as well have had a tape-recorder.

"Do you wish you were married?"

"No." She automatically replied; the feminist within her bristled.

"Not even to the John? Or the father of your child?"

Elizabeth frowned, confused. "They're the same guy."

"Technically, yes...the father of your baby has made all these plans and has been incredibly helpful and kind, as you pointed out at the beginning of this session, but what about John, the man? What's he been like and do you want him to play a part in your life?"

Elizabeth sighed, shakily. "He loves this place." Kate waited for her to continue. "And why not? It's breath-taking. The new discoveries, the science, the history, even the architecture, but it's more than that for him...it's the first place that he has ever really thought of as home...and I don't want to be the one to take that away from him."

"And how would you do that?" Kate looked down at Elizabeth's nervous habit of folding and unfolding her hands.

"In the words of Jack O'Neill, 'when it comes to people, I'm optimistic, when it comes to the IOA, the glass is _always_ half full'." She smiled wryly. "There is _no way_ I'm having this baby here Kate; this city may be almost colonial and we may be here in the pursuit of knowledge, but, as far as Earth is concerned, Atlantis is still a military base. And...I can live with that. Having that choice being taken out of my hands makes things so much simpler because I know I can focus on being a good parent without worrying about the next city invasion or any other galatical emergency. I don't want to think about John, the man, or even John, the father, because I'm not entirely sure when it comes down to baby versus this place, the kid will win." Elizabeth let go of a breath, pleased to get that off her chest.

"I see..." Kate scribbled something down, and then looked up again; seemingly ready to move on to the next topic. "Have you spoken to Mandy Bar-"

"Alright!" Elizabeth held a hand up, abruptly silencing Kate to the doctor's surprise. "I'm going to stop you right there." She looked down at her watch. "I lasted about half an hour without crying or yelling; I conquered the hormones, if only for a moment." Elizabeth said, proudly. "But if you bring up _that_ woman, I swear to God, once I'm done you're going to end up prescribing me something...something strong." Elizabeth stood up from her chair. "Thank you Kate for your time, but, when it comes to John, I truly favour the path of self-denial. I'm going to apologise for being rude to him the other day and hopefully we'll be able to move on."

Kate stood up also, setting Elizabeth's file aside and displeased she was leaving. "Elizabeth, I really think it would be beneficial if-"

"I don't think it would; I tried it and, if my mother could see me right now, she would be thrilled that I had a moment's willingness to offload my emotional baggage...horrified that I'm having an illegitimate child, but still a little thrilled..." Kate opened her mouth to respond, but Elizabeth once again cut her off. "No! I don't want to talk about my mother! That's a whole other can of worms that I just don't want to deal with right now, but thank you, again, for the help."

* * *

For the rest of the day, Elizabeth stayed in her office, focusing on reading Rodney's latest report; his narcissism typed on to paper...what a way to spend an afternoon. It was only when she reached for her coffee mug, did she see a rather apprehensive Colonel hovering in her doorway.

"John! Come in, come in!" She waved him over, a little too spiritedly. She was going for care-free and relaxed; she inwardly sighed at how manic she sounded. John slowly made his way over to her desk, and after some hesitation, sat down in the chair opposite her. He had been debating whether to perch on the edge of her desk, as he usually did.

"So how-"

"Did you-"

They both started, awkwardly laughing as they talked over each other, followed by an awkward pause.

"I went to see Kate." Elizabeth announced, deciding the best policy was just to come straight out with it.

"You did? Are you okay?" John asked, worried.

"Oh yes, I'm fine. She just helped me see what a bitch I was to you, when you've been fantastic and far more organised and mature about us becoming parents than I should have been. I'm sorry and thank you for being...you." Elizabeth smiled gently, praying that had cleared the air.

John nodded in acceptance; seeing that was all she had to say, he moved to get up. "Well, I think I'm going to check-"

"I didn't know." Elizabeth blurted out, not wanting him to leave when he was obviously not satisfied with her apology.

John raised a confused eyebrow. "Didn't know what?"

Elizabeth put her hands in front of her, folding them. "That you loved me." She said, softly.

"Oh..." John looked down in his lap, an expression of 'oh, _that_' written all over his face, before looking up a little perplexed. "You didn't?"

"No...I thought you maybe liked me more than I thought, but I didn't know...that." She groaned at being so tongue-tied. "I'm not good on small things, I'm good with big stuff."

John raised his eyebrow again, this time unamused. "You think love is a small thing?"

Elizabeth sighed with frustration; what was it about this man which resulted in her being so inarticulate? "No, it's just, in my house, as I was telling Kate, it was the big things that were important to know and learn and talk about. World events and politics, racial and sexual equality and the economy were the kinds of things we talked about at the dinner table. So, I can talk in front of lecture hall of students or at a social function for a bunch of politicians, but we never talked about small things, _personal_ things." John's face was unreadable, so she went on, trying to make herself understood. "I was a Daddy's girl, through and through; I adored him and he adored me. I remember from the age of five to the day he died when I was in my late twenties, he used to read the Economist and then mark down the pages he'd thought I would like and we would discuss them in his office at home by the fire nearly every evening over hot cocoa." She smiled fondly at the memory.

"You read the Economist when you were five?! Is our kid going to be like that?" John said, a look of blatant disgust on his face.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "That's not the point. The point _is_ that even though I loved my father with all my heart, I can count on my hand the number of times he said to me the words 'I love you.'" Elizabeth finished.

John waited for more, she said nothing. He leaned forward. "I don't get it." He admitted.

"Oh for God's sake!! What I am saying is that I struggle to convey how I feel sometimes, but it doesn't mean I don't feel it. You might think I'm cold and heartless but my room full of corners is only that way because I grew up in a house full of corners."

"I don't think you're cold and heartless, I was angry." He said apologetically before an expression of confusion once again graced his face. "But um...corners? What corners? What on Earth-"

"I loved you too!" Elizabeth finished, at the end of her recently shortened patience. "When we were together, you meant a lot to me, you still do...I loved you too and I wanted you to know that." Elizabeth said brusquely, irritated she actually had to spell it out.

John's jaw almost dropped. "I didn't know that."

"Neither of us did." She smiled ironically.

John rubbed his forehead, trying to process that she had felt the same way. "Wait a moment," he said, triggered by a thought, "if I loved you and you loved me, what was the problem? Why did you pull away?" John asked puzzled.

Elizabeth raised both eyebrows, outwardly fairly calm, whilst inwardly rushing to find a response. "Well, you see I didn't-"

Fortunately, Elizabeth was saved by Rodney marching into her office without so much as a knock.

"Rodney!" She gave him a dazzling smile, relieved to be interrupted. "How can I-"

"YOU'RE HAVING A BABY!?!" He shouted, wide-eyed and apparently horrified.

Elizabeth jumped at his tone, whilst John looked vaguely amused.

"WITH _HIM_!?!" Rodney demanded, pointing wildly at John.

John had the good grace to look insulted at that. "Hey!"

The whole of the control room, meanwhile, were now looking at Elizabeth's office, eyes wide and bottom jaws on the floor.

Elizabeth groaned; it appeared their secret was officially out.

"See!" John said cheerfully, with more glee than Elizabeth appreciated at that moment, "I told you!! 'Understated'!"

TBC...


	7. Chapter 7

Thank for the reviews! Seeing what you like about the story helps me a lot; gives me ideas! And I love my room with corners analogy as well! Keep reviewing and enjoy the next chapter!

**Chapter 7:**

Rodney stood, looking between the pair, waiting for a response.

"Rodney..." Elizabeth smiled anxiously, getting up from her desk. "Could you just be a _little_ quieter please?"

Rodney's jaw completely unhinged. "_That's_ your response!! You're pregnant and _that's_ all you can say! I had to find this out from Katie! _I_ should have been the first to know!"

"Excuse me McKay," John interjected, "I think that _I_ should have been the first to know."

Rodney looked him up and down in disgust, shaking his head. "You should be ashamed of yourself." John rolled his eyes. "And as for you, Elizabeth..." Rodney's eyes snapped to her accusingly. "You should have known better...I mean, with _Captain Kirk_, really..." He shook his head in disappoint.

Elizabeth narrowed her eyes, trying to remind herself that Rodney had only just found out and therefore was entitled to panicking for a while. "Yes Rodney, I'm pregnant and it is with John's baby – that's not up for discussion because, frankly... I can't do anything about that."

"Thanks for the endorsement." John muttered, sarcastically.

Elizabeth ignored his comment. "And, as for you not being made aware sooner, it was simply a case of not wanting to tell everyone yet."

Rodney's eyes widened, offended. "I am not everyone!!"

"That's for sure." John commented, now sitting on Elizabeth's desk, pulling one of her statues out from underneath him.

Rodney glared at John. "I'm Rodney! Your...friend!! I'm supposed to know before the rest of those plebeians." He waved his hand towards the control room in disdain; all of them unsurprised by the insult.

Elizabeth sighed tiredly. "Of course, you're our friend, but...we'll we just thought-"

"Rodney!" John interrupted, sick of dancing around the scientist. "Look at the faces of the people out there!" He pointed to the control room. "They all know Elizabeth's pregnant and, I give it an hour at the most, before everyone knows! God knows why, but yes, you're my friend, but you're also a man who tends to overreact and make a scene. If we had told you earlier, then everyone would have found out sooner and we wanted to get used to the idea of being parents by ourselves." John smiled sympathetically, hoping that would calm McKay down.

"WHAT?! How can you talk to me like that?! I may 'make a scene', but at least I don't pursue everything with a pulse and now you have... _ensnared_ poor Elizabeth – you've just hit a new low!" Elizabeth raised her eyebrows; Rodney backtracked. "Not that you're a 'low'...but, you're...you are off limits!" He pointed angrily at John. "You hurt her and you're going to live to regret it – why she wants to be with you I have absolutely no id-"

"We are _not_ together!" Elizabeth cut him off, sharply.

Rodney looked at John with horror. "You get the woman pregnant and you're not going to do the right thing and marry her!?!"

"Did you just hear her vehemently deny we are together? Trust me, McKay; there is no way she wants to get married." John tried to defend himself.

"Have you even asked her?" Rodney enquired, folding his arms, thoroughly unimpressed.

"Stop!! What decade are we living in here? John and I are not getting married because this isn't the dark ages; we can have a baby together and not _be_ together." She supplied.

"If Ross and Rachel can do it, so can we!" John smiled sardonically.

Elizabeth closed her eyes. "...give me strength..."

* * *

"...you know when my sister was about 13 she was accidentally stabbed." Radek told Elizabeth; she was confused as to how he had jumped from congratulating her on the baby to a stabbing, but years of practice allowed her to disguise her alarm.

"Oh, Radek...I'm so sorry." She said condolingly, gently rubbing his arm.

"Oh no...she did not die!" Radek clarified, embarrassed that the lovely Dr. Weir was comforting him. "She made a full recovery, but that was the most painful experience of her life."

"Oh..." Elizabeth withdrew her hand, completely baffled. "Well, that's-"

"My point is that it was only when she gave birth to my darling nephew, also named Radek," he smiled proudly, "that she said being stabbed was not so bad...she said contractions were like a thousand little knifes stabbing her uterus." Elizabeth swallowed. "However, after twenty-three torturous hours in labour, she had a beautiful son. You will also experience that joy." He smiled. "Creating life is a great thing."

Elizabeth nodded; she was stunned into silence. Her eyes flitted from side to side trying to look for an out; she found some balcony doors. "That's a lovely story Radek, would you excuse me? I just need to...um...sorry..."

* * *

After finally escaping the Czech scientist, Elizabeth collapsed on to the balcony bench, thoroughly exhausted from today's events. The whole of Atlantis knew she was pregnant and they all wanted to offer their congratulations and advice; she wasn't used to that much attention. The balcony doors swished open.

"Radek, please I just need..." She trailed off as John sat down next to her. "...hi."

"Hi. What a day, huh?!" John grinned at her.

Elizabeth frowned, bemused. "I was just thinking the exact same thing actually, but my 'what a day' was in a tired, dejected tone; you sound almost happy." She said, accusingly.

"Are you kidding? This day has been great! Everybody has been so nice, offering really good advice for during the pregnancy and after and wanting to help out with whatever we need." He smiled. "Did you know that Lt. Peters is a carpenter in his free-time? I've seen a chair he made and it was fantastic; he said he'd happily make a crib! How amazing is that?" She'd never seen him so full of...exuberance; in her bitter mood, it was not appreciated.

"I'm so glad your day has been wonderful John, really I am," her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Do you want to know how I've spent my day?" John merely nodded slightly, sensing she wanted to vent. "To start with, all the advice I've received has pointed out to me that I know _nothing_ on how to look after a baby. Secondly, even though I'm into the second trimester I still can't look at most food groups without wanting to throw up." She stood up and starting pacing a little in front of him. "Thirdly, some of the people here should just quit their day jobs and be hired as effective contraception, because Dr. Yang's detailed, _detailed_ description of the birth of her nieces made me regret my first _rendez-vous_ with Billy Chadwick in the economics rooms and lastly-"

"You lost your virginity to a boy named _Billy_ in the _economics rooms_? My my, Elizabeth Weir." He smirked, pretending to be scandalised.

She glared at him. "_Lastly_..." She repeated. "Carson asked me 'what the hell did I think I was doing still drinking coffee?' and has forbidden the canteen staff from giving me any caffeine of any kind until after the baby is born!! So, yes John, I agree with your earlier sentiment, 'what a da-" She stopped suddenly, her hands shooting to her stomach.

"What's wrong?!" He leaped up from his seat, concerned.

"Nothing." She shook her head, smiling gently. "Here, give me your hand." She placed his hand on her lower stomach and covered it with her own. She grinned up at him. "Do you feel that?"

"Wow..." He said stunned. "That...he's kicking!" A look of pure happiness displayed across his face.

"_He_?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, keep your hair on! I'm not calling our baby 'it' and saying 'he or she' is such an effort..." he explained.

She sighed. "Fine. We're going to have a baby, John," she said, worriedly, "and whilst you seem to have accepted that fact easily, it's taken me a long time...there is going to be a baby..." she repeated, whilst he nodded in agreement. "Beforehand, I'll have to endure hours of agony and torment according to Dr. Zelenka, _but_...there will be a baby." Then she looked at him in concentration and asked the question that had been burning in her mind all day. "This morning, with Rodney, it seemed like...did you consider asking me to marry you?"

John looked at her in discomfort. "Kind of, yeah. You know, you're having my baby...I thought it would be the right thing to do to at least offer, but I knew you wouldn't go for it so..." He swallowed, nervously.

"It's sweet that you considered it," her fingertips gently brushing against his hand that still lay on her belly. "But you're right; I would have never gone for it. Blame the Catholic girl within me but when I get married I only plan on doing it once. Committing to someone for any other reason than the fact that you love them and want to spent your life with them...well, that does not a good marriage make." She smiled shyly; his face the picture of melancholy. "I hope the baby inherits your desire to do what's right, though."

He finally grinned. "Yeah? I hope the baby inherits your calmness." She raised a disbelieving eyebrow. "Well, not now...pregnancy has obviously made you loopy," he conceded, "but, usually, you're a very collected person, I really envy that."

She smiled appreciatively at the compliment. "I hope he has your intelligence."

John puffed his chest out proudly. "I am MENSA material, it's true." She laughed gently. "I hope he gets your laugh; a pastime you should indulge in more often by the way." She blushed with embarrassment. "And your hair." He said, matter-of-factly.

"I hope he gets my hair too." She agreed.

"Hey! What's wrong with my hair?" He asked, offended.

She smirked. "Have you looked in the mirror? I do not want to have to tame that unruly mop for the next eighteen years of my life, thank you very much."

He titled his head in reluctant agreement. "Touché."

"But I hope he gets your smile." She said, compromisingly.

"Mmm...okay, and I hope he gets your eyes." He said softly, his hand, _still_ resting on her belly, gently caressing.

The pair of them stayed silent just revelling in the moment; even the baby had stilled as if to give them some privacy.

"Elizabeth..." He whispered, not breaking the moment. "I want...Mandy?!"

She raised both eyebrows in disbelief. "That's lovely...I guess..." She frowned.

"No, no!!" He said, apologetically. "She's on the headset." He put a hand to his ear. "Just give me a moment..." Elizabeth tried to smile, but found herself completely unable to and instead chose to lean on the balcony railing and look into Atlantis' night sky.

A few moments, he came to rest beside her; a look of mortification and regret on his face. "I'm so sorry about that...I'm supposed to have met her for dinner over half an hour ago...that's the third time I've forgotten this week."

Elizabeth turned to him; whatever moment they had gone and both of their walls resurrected. "It's understandable; you've got a lot to deal with right now."

"Yeah...that's what she said." John tried to smile but it appeared more as a grimace. "Elizabeth I'm-"

"It's okay!" She said, trying to sound a little too enthusiastic. "You go! Have dinner with your girlfriend and enjoy yourself."

"Oh...right." He nodded and stood back from the railing. "Night then."

"Goodnight." She turned to look at the stars once more, forcing herself not to watch him go. She shook her head with resignation. "Mindy, Mindy, Mindy..."

* * *

After about ten minutes' solitude, she walked back in and headed to the control one last time before turning in, graciously accepting the congratulations that she received on the way.

"Hi, Dr. Weir." Chuck nodded in greeting as Elizabeth started to head towards her office. "We're about to send the latest transmission to Earth."

She stopped. "Oh really? Could you wait one moment? I've got something I'd like you to send with it."

"Telling them the happy news?" He smiled.

"The news? Yes. Whether they'll be happy about it remains to be seen." She sighed; it was time for Earth to have her say.

TBC...


	8. Chapter 8

Hope you are enjoying the story and please review and tell me what you think.

**Chapter 8:**

"John, please sit down." Elizabeth said with as much patience as she could muster as she lay on the gurney waiting for Carson to arrive. Today was her mid-pregnancy scan to check that the baby was healthy and there were no complications; an exciting and worrying day for most mothers, Elizabeth had struggled to find the time to fit this scan in. The baby had yet to arrive and Elizabeth was still unable to find enough hours within the day; it didn't bode well.

"John, seriously, would you quit playing around? That's sensitive medical equipment." Elizabeth snapped at his childish behaviour.

"I know." He agreed without making any move to stop touching the ultrasound machine. "Look at this thing..." He lifted up the probe attached to the machine and started rubbing it against his forehead.

"What are you doing?" She said with irritation, briefly wondering what had attracted her to this man in the first place.

"Oh, you know..." John shrugged, "...just seeing what's inside my head, might find a baby of my own in there." He grinned.

"There will be a brain, John...if that." She deadpanned, before groaning and leaning against the pillows.

"Elizabeth, relax, everything will be fine." He placed the probe over his stomach. "It's just a routine-"

"Put that down, lad!" Carson ordered, exasperated, as he walked into the infirmary. John ignored Elizabeth's 'I told you' look and, sheepishly, sat down on the stall next to her bed.

"Scared of Carson?" She taunted, raising an eyebrow.

"He wields great needles and harbours wonderful drugs; he can inflict pain or needed relief. He's a God." John pointed out, as if reciting legend. Elizabeth could only roll her eyes.

"Sorry about the wait, lass; Rodney threw a coffee mug at Dr. Shreiker and, for the first time in over 3 years, he actually hit his target." Carson adjusted the ultrasound machine and then lifted up Elizabeth's top. "So, we're looking at about 25 weeks now...a little bit late for the mid- scan but never mind." He smiled and then applied the gel to the probe. "Now, this will be a wee cold." He said before placing the probe on her stomach. "Alright, here we go, there's your baby."

And there it was. In black and white and crappy quality though it was, Elizabeth and John could clearly see their unborn child in front of them. The head and face, the body and all arms and legs; it was the most beautiful thing Elizabeth had even seen.

"Well, the wee one, has got a very strong heartbeat which is good..." Carson checked all the information being recorded, "...I'll take a few blood tests, of course, but from what I can see the baby looks healthy; there are no anomalies to be concerned about." Elizabeth sighed in relief; John couldn't keep his eyes off the screen. "Do you want to know the sex?"

"Sure."

"No way!!"

Elizabeth looked surprised at John's adamant 'no'. "Why don't you want to know?"

John blinked at her. "So it's a surprise." He answered, as if obvious.

Elizabeth smiled dryly. "Finding out I was having a baby was enough of a surprise for me John, aren't you sick of the unknown? This way, we can colour-coordinate!" She suggested, brightly.

"No!" John shook his head, fervently. "It has to be a surprise so the doctor can go 'congratulations, you have a boy!' or 'congratulations, you have a girl!'...please...we can paint everything yellow and green..." John pouted.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes, again. "But I'm sick of referring to my baby as 'he or she'..." He pouted again; she heaved a sigh and turned back to Carson. "We would rather remain clueless, thank you Carson."

"Very well, but I'm assuming you want a picture." Elizabeth smiled in assent, as John grinned and nodded giddily. "Give me a moment, I'll print it off." He left the monitor on for them to look at the baby whilst he went to his office.

"Can you see a little penis?" Elizabeth joked, squinting at the screen.

"Elizabeth!" He playfully tapped her on the arm. "Do not look! It's supposed to be a-"

"Surprise!!" Mandy called out as she waltzed into the infirmary, smiling, as always.

Elizabeth's eyes widened incredulously, whilst John hurried over to Mandy in confusion.

"Am I late for something?" He asked, feigning a smile, whilst cautiously looking at how Elizabeth was responding to Mandy's presence.

"No." His girlfriend shook her head, smiling. "I just didn't want to miss the scan!" She bypassed John and rushed over to Elizabeth's bedside. "Isn't this so exciting? Don't tell me I've missed it?!" She asked, concerned.

"No, no..." Elizabeth smiled falsely. "...Carson's just getting the picture."

"Oh!" Mandy grinned with excitement, clapping her hands; Elizabeth raised an eyebrow at John. "Have you found out the sex?"

"We don't want to know." Elizabeth stated, resolutely; John stifled a smirk at her sudden change of heart.

"Oh...okay." Mandy replied, still smiling. "Is the baby healthy? With mature mothers, there is a higher risk of genetic disorders, you know. I assume Doctor Beckett is testing accordingly?"

If Elizabeth had known Mandy a little less well, she would have interpreted her description of her as '_mature_' as a snide and bitchy remark, but she knew Mandy had asked the question innocently and out of concern. Somehow, strangely, she felt she would have been more impressed by the woman if she had attempted the former.

"Oh yes...he'll take some blood samples." Elizabeth smiled, amused that such a woman, with such little tact and such a constant smile existed in the world and that she, herself, had permitted her existence on Atlantis.

"So..." John rubbed his hands together impatiently, "Mandy, how about I see you later and I'll-"

"Oh I'm not going anywhere John!" She waved him off, giggling. "I'm so darn excited – we're having a baby!" She reached out and held Elizabeth's hand.

Elizabeth slowly turned her head towards John, his face cringing with humiliation, and grinned, "Do you hear that? She's _darn_ excited."

* * *

"_Darn excited_? I'm not letting that woman near my baby...actually, strike that, I'm not letting her near me now because, at this point, the baby can hear things from outside the womb and if the kid hears that, _he or she_" she said, bitter that she still had to refer to her baby like so, "will choose to never come out. Then, I'll be the women who made the record books for being pregnant longer than any other woman in the history of time." She threw her arms up in frustration as he placed his coffee, and her herbal tea and cinnamon roll, on her desk.

"In the history of time?" He raised both eyebrows, doubtfully.

"I'm ranting, John; you know that this is what pregnant Elizabeth is like, get over it." She glared at him and his delicious-looking coffee and then started to devour her cinnamon roll. "That woman is awful." She declared through a mouthful of food.

"_That_ _woman_? Is that what you call her?" He sunk down into the chair opposite, lazily.

"I can go back to calling her Mindy if you like." She smiled mockingly.

He shrugged, casually. "She's okay."

She shook her head sarcastically as if she had misheard him. "I'm sorry... did you just say 'she's okay'? She's your girlfriend, you can't say that!"

He opened in arms in disbelief. "You just said that she is awful and you're lecturing me for saying that 'she's okay'?"

"She's the annoying girlfriend of my baby's father; it's my job to not like her." Elizabeth reasoned. "You're the boyfriend; you've got to come up with something better than 'she's okay.'"John narrowed his eyes, scrutinising her. "What?" She demanded, self-consciously.

"I'm going to break up with her; you don't like her." John said decidedly, picking up his coffee to drink.

Elizabeth frowned, baffled. "I don't...why? Why would you do that? You can't dump her!"

John groaned. "We are not having this argument again."

Elizabeth took a deep breath. "This isn't an argument...I'm perfectly calm. You can dump her, if you want, but you _can't_ dump her because I don't like her; that cannot be your reason. Correction, _I _cannot be your reason." She argued...calmly.

"To be fair, I wasn't that fond of her today either, but why else would I dump her if not for you? We are together forever now; we're having a kid there's no escaping that, so you need to like who I'm dating and you don't like her, therefore I'm not going to date her." He concluded.

"Wow...first_, hence_ and now_, therefore_...fancy..." she grinned before sobering. "That's terrible, you have to dump her for _you_, not for me; otherwise you'll never let me forget it. Ten years from now, you'll say 'hey Elizabeth why don't you, me and...I don't know, our son Buddy...move to Antarctica, don't you miss it there?'" She said, attempting a deep tone. "And I, of course, will tell you that you're crazy and I'm not going and then you'll come out with the, by that time, _old_ line of 'I dumped my girlfriend for you' and, out of guilt, I would sacrifice my happiness to go live with penguins, all because of Mandy Barton." Elizabeth smiled smugly at her excellent argument for just a moment before she realised that whatever negotiating skills she had before had somehow vanished.

John looked at Elizabeth in awe and slight concern as he drank from his mug. "_Buddy? Penguins?"_

She waved him off, impatiently. "Alright, I'm losing my mind, but you see my point."

"Okay, whatever. I'll break up with her _for me_." He emphasised.

"Now you're lying." Elizabeth sucked the remaining cinnamon off her fingers.

"I can't please you!" John moaned hopelessly, as he sunk further into the chair.

"How am I supposed to be pleased with all the lies? Look! If I wasn't in your life, all...pregnant and chatty about penguins, would you end things with her?" Elizabeth enquired.

John paused for thought, placed his finished mug back on her desk and folded his arms. "Well...probably not, I mean... I like her, I guess."

"There you go." Elizabeth tried to smile cheerfully. "I don't want to be the one who ruins your life happiness with Mandy; years from now, when you two lovebirds get married, you'll be thanking me."

"Whoa!" John's eyes widened in horror. "Hold on there!! Who said anything about _marriage_? No, I wouldn't end things with her because I like her, but _everybody_ likes her." Elizabeth looked at him pointedly. "Apart from you, everybody likes her." He amended. "I wouldn't end things because she's nice and easy to get along with, but somewhere along the line, she'd get frustrated and ask where things were going and I would tell her that I have absolutely no intention of settling down with her and then it would be 'bye bye Mindy.' So if I end things now, it just brings the schedule a bit forward and you're happy, which is what's important." John rationalised, but Elizabeth looked unconvinced. He stood up and perched on the edge of her desk. "Elizabeth, in the infirmary today, I wanted to kill her a little bit as well."

"You did?" Elizabeth asked, hopefully; he nodded earnestly. "That's the sweetest thing you've ever said to me."

"Aww...that's sad..." He grinned. "I'm going to go now; I've got men to train and missions to organise." He said, jumping off her desk and adopting a macho tone. "You enjoy your tea; I'll see you for dinner."

Elizabeth nodded happily as he left the room. She knew she should feel ashamed of how she felt, but the notion that there was no longer a chance that Mandy could end up as her child's stepmother felt simply fantastic; this was a good day.

"Dr. Weir?" Chuck called via the headset.

"Yes?" She clicked her headset and sipped her tea.

"I've got General Landry here via video-link and he wants to speak to you. Shall I patch it through to your office?" Elizabeth inwardly groaned, so much for this being a good day.

"Yes, please." Elizabeth bit her lip nervously. She switched on the small screen in her office and stood in front of General Landry, looking as friendly as always.

"So..." He left the pink elephant crossing the two galaxies just hanging there.

"So..." Elizabeth smiled back. "I assume you received all our current data and mission reports."

"Yes, yes we did." Landry nodded affirmatively; he opened his mouth, as if to speak, but closed it again.

Elizabeth had to stop herself from rolling her eyes. "Did you get my personal message as well?" She prompted.

"Yes, yes we did." Landry nodded again; he seemed to be doing a lot of that.

"And?" She questioned.

"The I.O.A wants to meet with you, Doctor; they said tomorrow, but we'll see you in a week. " He smiled comfortingly. Elizabeth merely nodded; she hadn't expected anything less than the Spanish Inquisition. "They'll interview you and then meet and conclude whether you'll continue to be in charge of Atlantis, or whether you'll be able to go back to Atlantis at all. I don't want to sound pessimistic, but I would back everything you want with you and say your goodbyes...just in case." He tried to look cheerful, but it didn't help. Elizabeth wanted to cry or either be sick; she couldn't tell. She had expected this outcome, but, seeing it realised, hurt. "Nothing's set in stone, Dr. Weir, so don't lose hope."

She cleared her throat. "Thank you...is that all?" She replied, starting to feel drained.

He nodded solemnly, before realising something. "No, actually, Jack O'Neill told me to tell you he gave your mother the news!" He smiled joyfully.

"WHAT?!" Elizabeth's face displayed only the panic she felt; if leaving Atlantis left her feeling sick and tearful, knowing her mother was aware of her being pregnant left her with the distinct desire to run and hide.

The general was taken aback by her reaction. "Well, um...Jack is Head of Homeworld Security so he lives in D.C. as does your mother and well, he's always liked you so he was happy to deliver the wonderful news." He answered nervously.

"If he liked me, he would have stayed far, _far_ away from my mother. What did he say? What did _she_ say?" Elizabeth demanded in alarm.

"I'm not sure, but Jack said that he and her are firm friends now." He smiled, but Elizabeth couldn't wipe the expression of terror off her face. "Elizabeth," He called, catching her attention. "Congratulations, you are going to make an incredible mother." He said softly.

"Uh-huh." Elizabeth replied, sceptically. "Do you think you could call my mom and tell her that?" _Yep_, Elizabeth inwardly decided, _this was no longer a good day...not a good day_ _at all_.

TBC...


	9. Chapter 9

Merry Christmas everybody! So sorry it's taken so long to post this chapter. No John in this chapter, but I hope you still enjoy!

**Chapter 9:**

_Crap._ The one word that seemed to perfectly sum up Elizabeth's current situation._ Crap._ She shifted in her chair and smiled confidently at the three men on the other side of the table: Mr Woolsey, General Landry and Dr. Kerensky. Elizabeth had already come to accept her fate; she'd won some pretty tough battles against the I.O.A in her time, but she knew she was going to lose the war. _Although_, she thought, patting her belly affectionately, _there were worse ways to go_. Saying goodbye to everybody had been hard, though. Teyla promised to write and wished her luck for the future, Ronan gathered Elizabeth in a spontaneous bear hug and McKay was in complete denial, wondering why he needed to say goodbye at all when she would be back soon enough. For a highly-strung and over-emotional pregnant woman, Elizabeth was surprised at how calm she remained and was touched by the sheer amount of people who turned out in the control room to wish her well. Surprisingly, Colonel Caldwell seemed genuinely grieved by the idea that she might not return. And, unsurprisingly, Zelenka cried.

Her eyes glanced down at her watch. Mr Woolsey had just spent the last two hours reciting why she had been asked to return back to Earth and the purpose of the meeting; in short, her military commander had got her knocked up and now they wanted to discuss her future with the Stargate program: i.e. fire her.

"So, Dr. Weir, with a child on the way...well, you can surely see maintaining your current position as expedition leader is impractical and dangerous; Atlantis is simply no place for children as long as the Wraith and replicators are still out there." Mr Woolsey reasoned; his eyes unconsciously and uncomfortably flitting to her, by now, prominent bump. Elizabeth stopped herself from rolling her eyes at the unfairness of it all; men just didn't have this problem. If some marine got some alien girl pregnant off-world, the I.O.A wouldn't have to know and that soldier could factor being a father into his life on Atlantis. Here, she was opposite a man with similar career ambitions as herself who, she knew, had a teenage daughter who lived in D.C with her mother and he couldn't even bring himself to properly look at a pregnancy bump. He had a child and yet the whole process was so _alien_ to him. Just because he had a penis and she didn't, Mr Richard Woolsey, a man who had never been half as successful as her in the fields of diplomacy and international study, was going to have the opportunity to further his career because she was going through the most natural thing in the world: having a baby. Now that she really thought about, he did look kind of smug, too; all bald and superior. _Bastard_. She turned her gaze to General Landry, at least he looked friendly and sympathetic, but, then again, he was a _family man_, whatever the hell that was, and probably thought 'it was about time' that something like this happen_. After all_, she could hear her mother's voice in her head, _she wasn't getting any younger_. Dr. Kerensky, meanwhile, could secretly have been a mannequin for all she knew; the man hadn't spoken once or even blinked the whole time she'd sat there. She lazily turned to look at Woolsey again; he looked expectant. _Am I supposed to respond? There was no question!_

"Yes," Elizabeth nodded, smiling. "I completely agree. Atlantis is no place to raise children, especially when such an armed presence of SG personnel is needed. Perhaps when the Wraith and our other enemies are less threatening, if not gone entirely, then it may be a different story, but I concur. You're perfectly right." She admitted, her smile waning.

Mr Woolsey looked taken back, peering down at his notes nervously, as if he had prepared for Elizabeth to argue her case. He eyed her with scrutiny. "You agree?"

Elizabeth smiled wryly. "Yes, I do. Can I assume all ambassadors whose states are involved in the Stargate Program, as well as the President, all agree as well?" Woolsey nodded. "And therefore, am I also correct to assume that I am to be removed as head of the mission and from the Atlantis expedition altogether?" She asked matter-of-factly.

"Well, er..." Woolsey looked at the other gentlemen in askance, "...yes, that was the plan, actually."

"Indefinite maternity leave, you could call it." Kerensky smirked, somewhat maliciously. _So he can talk._ Elizabeth just nodded, what was there to say when she agreed with all their reasoning. Having children and being on Atlantis were incompatible for the foreseeable future and, whilst it hurt Elizabeth to imagine her life without Atlantis, it killed her to imagine any harm coming to her child because she'd allowed her own selfish desire to stay in the Pegasus overrule her responsibilities as a mother.

"I don't quite know what to say." Woolsey frowned.

"Well, I do." Elizabeth rose from the table; the other gentlemen stood up after her. "I'm so thankful that I was given the opportunity to discover the city of Atlantis and, despite some near-death experiences and more paperwork than was _ever_ necessary, I felt blessed to run the expedition. But now that I'm having a baby, naturally, the safety of my child comes first; Atlantis will never be able to be my number one priority again and, when that happens, it's time to call it quits. The Pegasus galaxy is far from tranquil and, bringing up a child, is going to undoubtedly split my focus and impact upon my decisions most probably in a negative fashion. You've made the right decision and, honestly, if you hadn't called me back to Earth, I think that somewhere along the line I would have stepped down." Elizabeth smiled. "I'm going to be a mum. I figured some things were going to have to change."

Woolsey smiled softly back at her. In all the years, the two had butted heads over Atlantis, Elizabeth finally felt understood. "Well," he said, collecting his documents, "...I think it's safe to say, your child is going to have one hell of a mother. Good luck and goodbye, Dr. Weir; I'll send the appropriate documents over within the next few weeks." Kerensky merely nodded his goodbye and just like that, Elizabeth had been sacked...or had resigned, she wasn't quite sure.

"So..." She breathed a deep sigh, not of relief, but of something new and exciting.

"So..." Landry grinned at her. "Ever the speech-maker. You rehearse that?" He lazily sat back down in his chair.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes and put on her jacket that had been resting on the back of her chair. "Nope, but I wish John had witnessed those few coherent sentences, that's the first time my brain actually succeeded in saying what it wanted to. A great speech-maker, perhaps, but no job to speak of." She sighed, letting that thought sink in.

"Not necessarily." Landry looked at Elizabeth seriously. "Despite some of the SG personnel being with the program for years before you had even heard about the Stargate; apart from Daniel Jackson, you have the best grip on the Ancient language. Not to mention, you are a damn good negotiator – we could really use someone like you around here." Hank Landry leaned back on his chair.

Elizabeth raised her eyebrows, stunned to have a new job offered to her so quickly, but taking one look around the meeting room, she already knew her answer. "Here, I'm in Colorado, so my family is only a plane flight away. You have live T.V and are kept up-to-date with all the goings-on around the world. You have more laboratories devoted to linguistics and artefacts. At the SGC, I can still explore what there is to know about the Ancients, whilst continuing on with a normal life. Even your jello tastes better!" Elizabeth grinned.

"But?" Hank Landry was more than astute.

"But," Elizabeth agreed. "I don't care about the way the jello tastes...and you can offer me any artefact or negotiating opportunity you like but it just won't feel right in an office with concrete walls and no balconies. I'm sorry, General."

Hank folded his hands on the table and smirked. "I didn't actually offer you an office." He joked, knowing that he wouldn't change her mind.

Elizabeth grinned indulgently. "Thanks, Hank, but I think it is about time I took a break from my career, at least a mini-break. I'm going to focus less on helping to save all of humanity from different alien evils and concentrate on what I want for a while." She walked leisurely walked towards the door, before turning to face Landry once more. "But if somehow you ever get this place to smell and sound like the ocean is right beside you, give me a call."

TBC...

Next time, we meet Elizabeth's mother....


	10. Chapter 10

Sorry, the last chapter was quite short, but it was definitely necessary. Hope you're enjoying the story and please keep reviewing, I love to hear what you think! (P.S I'm really sorry, John is not in this chapter either, but he will definitely be in the next, I promise.) Merry Christmas everybody!

**Chapter 10:**

Within hours of her meeting with the I.O.A, Elizabeth had got on a plane back home, to Washington D.C. John wasn't happy with her getting on a plane alone in case of an emergency; well, that had been his reasoning but Elizabeth was convinced he didn't want to face the music alone. Whilst he probably wasn't going to be fired, she assumed the military would want to find some loophole in order to discipline him. However, if they attempted any such actions, she would march right down to the President's Office herself and set the record straight. She may have led an intergalatical expedition for the last few years off her life, but she still was, as her rivals bitterly termed her, the 'darling of the White House' and knew who to talk to when the military stuck their oar in. However, for now, Dr. Weir, world renowned diplomat, political analyst and recent space explorer had the important task of visiting her mother and explaining that she was pregnant. She was pregnant with the illegitimate child of an Air Force pilot who she wasn't even dating, let alone planning to marry to remedy the 'child out of wedlock' scenario; an Air Force pilot who her mother hadn't even met yet and, of course, the news had been broken to her mother by another pilot, the ever-sensitive Jack O'Neill. _Oh_, Elizabeth groaned as she looked out of the window of the taxi driving through D.C. suburbia, _and by the way mum,_ _I'm also unemployed and homeless. _She pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head tiredly with resignation. _Fuck my life. _

She sighed and really looked out the taxi window. Pretty houses with porches were all lined up in rows, children's bikes and slides and sandpits scattered over some front gardens, all the trees and flowers were out in blossom and everybody looked so...happy. Elizabeth smiled wistfully, just for a moment, wishing she could be content with such a life. Instead, the sight made her feel quite ill, always had. It had been her parents' dream for her, after she'd felt she had achieved what she had wanted in her career. Her father saw that Elizabeth wanted to achieve more, do more for the world and supported her; her mother, however, wished to see her settled before it was too late. Her mother was always quick to remind her, also, that the 'too late' wasn't in reference to her own eventual passing, but, of course, to the point where her daughter simply wasn't desirable...at all...to anyone. Elizabeth's taxi slowly ground to a halt, in front of the most perfect house on the street. With white wash panelling and the apple tree blossoming, Elizabeth had countless fond memories here; it was a pity that she was about to get the shit kicked out of her. Paying the driver, she dragged her suitcases along the brick pathway and up the porch steps, stopping at the door. Her inner child whispered _you're home_, her heart greeted _welcome back_, but every other fibre of her being screamed _run for your life_! Elizabeth leant over and peered into the front room window, she felt on her edge; the desire to call for the taxi to return was strong.

She knocked tentatively on the door. "Er...mum?" She waited a few minutes before restlessly peering into the same window again. No answer. She knocked again. "Mum?...It's Elizabeth." She sighed, and walked along the porch to look into the kitchen window, where she could see her mother cleaning the dishes. Elizabeth tapped on the window; her mum didn't even look up. "Mum, I can see you." She said with exasperation, groaning as she was once again ignored. Storming back around to the front of the house, Elizabeth reached up for the key up on the door ledge and let herself in. Placing her suitcases by the stairs, she walked through the hallway into the kitchen and leant against the doorframe. Unsurprisingly, her mother hadn't moved from the spot. _Stubborn woman. _Looking around the room, Elizabeth was comforted to see it hadn't changed; the old oak kitchen table still sat in the centre of the room, photos of the Weir family proudly ordained the walls, trophies she had won and pictures she had painted during her childhood were here and there, reminding Elizabeth of how proud her father had been, how proud her mother was and how that pride had probably gone down the toilet when General O'Neill sprung the _good news_ on Margaret Weir, the Weir family matriarch and Queen of the neighbourhood, that her only child, her beloved daughter, had an accident bun in the oven.

"Mother, are you just going to ignore me? We haven't seen each other in nearly a year and I don't even get a 'hi, how are you?'?" Elizabeth ground her teeth in frustration when she got no answer. "MUM!!"

Finally, her mother stopped her movements. Taking off her washing-up gloves, she slowly turned around and looked at her daughter. Elizabeth shifted uncomfortably; her mother had a real gift of looking at a person as if she could listen to their inner thoughts. Margaret Weir was fairly tall in stature and, when she had been younger, she had been as tall as Elizabeth. Her eyes were a piercing shade of green and her hair a chestnut brown, dyed of course. Everything about her was immaculate. She wore the pearls, had the expensive suits and shoes; she had spent nearly the last forty years of her life playing the role of the perfect housewife, plus domestic help obviously, who continued to play an active role in the community and had pushed her daughter to be the best woman she could be. For the first time, in a long time, her mother's disappointment was palpable and that made Elizabeth feel nervous.

"You're fat." Her mother said nonchalantly, opening a kitchen cupboard to retrieve two cups and saucers. "Ice tea?"

Her daughter blinked. "What?..._I'm fat_?! I'm pregnant."

"Really?" Said her mother with mock astonishment. "My daughter is pregnant, well I didn't know that...but wait! I did know! I had to hear you were pregnant from dear Jonathan instead of my own daughter, do you have any idea how that felt?" Margaret commented bitterly, going to the fridge for the ice tea.

Elizabeth went forward to sit on one of the kitchen stools by the countertop. She was reluctant to apologise so early on in the game; Elizabeth knew her mother well enough to know the woman would use the words _I'm sorry_ to her advantage before going in for the kill. "Who the hell is Jonathan? And no, I don't want any ice tea."

Ignoring her daughter, Margaret poured both of them a cup. "Do not use the word _hell_ and do not deviate from the issue at hand here Elizabeth Anne Weir, you are pregnant and were so thoughtless that I had to learn of this from a military man, who, despite his career choice, happens to be very charming, but that's hardly the point..."

Elizabeth, begrudgingly, took the cup and set it on the counter. "Yes, I know Jack came and..." her eyes widened, "_Jonathan_? You call Jack O'Neill _Jonathan_? He lets you do that?" She stopped herself from grinning and grabbed the cookie tin.

Margaret snatched the tin away from her, dismissing her daughter's protests. "Jonathan is a lovely man and appreciates the fact that I hate names being shortened. No cookies for you." She put the tin on a high kitchen shelf.

"What are you talking about? Daddy called me 'Lizzie' all the time and why no cookies? I like cookies! Cookies are good." Elizabeth frowned childishly.

Margaret sipped her ice tea. "Not when pregnant. You need to be on a specialised diet to keep up your strength now, you're not exactly a spring chicken, and remind me why I heard all this from a pilot?" She inquired crossly.

"I work with the military at the moment, mum, or I did, you know that." Elizabeth shrugged, getting up to look in the fridge.

"_Or I did_? Meaning what?" She said with suspicion.

"Oh, well...I don't really have a job anymore." Elizabeth tried to shrug again, tearing off the top of a yoghurt carton.

Margaret rose an eyebrow, dangerously. "They fired you because you were pregnant! That is completely out of line and unethical, not to mention entirely illegal. I assume we are going to sue them! Mr. Davies will have them wishing they had never been born."

"No! No Mr Davies or any other lawyer...I...quit. Look, trust me. I'm fine, it's fine. Somewhat insulted by your spring chicken remark, but fine." She took a spoonful of yoghurt.

Her mother acquiesced reluctantly. "...So," looking at her daughter's belly. "...when are you due?"

"Just less than four months." She took another spoonful.

Her mother opened her mouth to berate her again, but seemed to think the better of it. "And are you and the child healthy?"

"Yes."

"Do you know the sex?"

"No."

"Where's the father?"

"Not here."

"Why?"

"He's got some meetings to attend...disciplinary meetings, I think. I worked with him and you know how the military hate fraternisation."

"Why would the military care?"

Elizabeth looked up at the ceiling in frustration. Her mother was in full swing as far as the questions were concerned. "Because, mum, he's one of them, they care if he-"

"MY GRANDCHILD WILL BE THE SON OR DAUGHTER OF A SOLDIER?!" Her cup rattled as she slammed it roughly back on the saucer.

Elizabeth took a step back. "Oh God, you didn't know that?!"

"Do not take the Lord's name in vain, Elizabeth! You're marrying a soldier, I don't believe this."

Elizabeth sighed. "Actually, he's an Air Force pilot-"

"Even worse." She muttered.

"- and we're not getting married."

Margaret started, then shook her head as if she had misheard. "I'm sorry...excuse me?

Elizabeth licked her lips nervously. "We are not getting married."

"Is he the father of this baby?"

"Yes."

"Then you two are getting married." Margaret said, as if there was to be no more discussion on the subject. She poured Elizabeth's ice tea down the sink.

"No, mum." Elizabeth said resolutely. "We're not. We're not even dating, why would we get-"

"YOU AREN'T EVEN DATING!?" She spun around the glare at her daughter.

Elizabeth laughed awkwardly. "Did I not mention that?" Suddenly, the back door opened as a young man walked in with a few potted plants.

"Good afternoon, Mrs Weir. I've replanted the tulip border and I thought with the spare bulbs you could have a few more plants inside." He looked between mother and daughter, realising he had obviously interrupted World War Three. "Hello, Miss Weir."

"That's right, Tom. She is Miss Weir and doesn't intend on ever altering that little fact despite recent events." Margaret said spitefully, close to tears.

Tom nodded slowly, unsure what to say. Elizabeth took pity. "How are you, Tom?"

"Very well, thank you, and you?" She smiled in response. "I'll just leave these somewhere..." He looked around the room.

"That's okay," She took the two pots from him. "I'll take them."

"Alrighty then. Goodbye Mam and...er, Miss." Margaret scoffed at the last word and turned to look out of the kitchen window. Elizabeth smiled again apologetically at Tom as he left.

Placing the pots on the kitchen table, Elizabeth looked at her mother. "What was that? This isn't the dark ages; people can have babies and not be married. It's not conventional, but this is my choice."

"Did you see the way he looked at you? He knew you were pregnant, nobody just gets this fat this quickly, and soon the whole town will know that my daughter is having a baby and is stubbornly determined to remain...Miss...Elizabeth...Weir." Her mother sobbed. "And don't put those pots on my table, they've been outside!"

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "Don't get upset, mum...John and I just don't want to get married. He's just got out of a relationship and-"

Her mother narrowed her eyes. "This man, this _John, _was in a relationship whilst you have been pregnant?"

Elizabeth held up her hands in his defence. "To be fair, they had already started dating when I found out I was pregnant."

"And he didn't end it?!"

"Well, he has _now_, and it was my fault really, I did not want-"

"I'm going to kill this boy." Margaret whispered.

Elizabeth groaned. "_What?_ No, okay, just _no_...you need to stop. He'll be here tomorrow, and you cannot talk to him like you talk to me. He's not a Weir, he's normal, or thereabouts, and therefore, does not like to be verbally abused by post-menopausal women. And also, I would like to point out that I'm not _that_ fat, it's just I don't want to buy maternity clothes and so have been wearing loose fitting-"

"If your father was here, he would kill him. I think I'm going to call your cousins to have a word with this _gentleman_." With a new purpose, Margaret pulled herself together and marched over to the phone, before stopping to firstly remove the offensive plants off her table.

"This is ridiculous. John is an adult who has his own life and if he wants to date-"

"No, dear." Margaret raised her hand to silence her. "His life is no longer his own, ever since you and him...did the dirty. There is going to be a child and he or she must come first. He is to be a father and with that, comes all the responsibilities. There will be no more nonsense. He is going to have to prove he is worthy to be part of this family otherwise so help me, I will hurt him. When I meet this man, I will forced to kick some sense into him, do you understand?" She said with the utmost seriousness.

A smile tugged at her daughter's lips. "_Did the dirty_?"

Margaret resisted the urge to stamp her foot. "ELIZABETH!!"

"You're right! You're right!" Elizabeth tried to smother her grin. "I'm sorry...but I think you'll be very surprised to find that John has already done a great job being the father-to-be."

"And he will come back here? To Washington? I assume he's also quitting this job doing who-knows-what who-knows-where."

Elizabeth sighed quietly and looked down. _I hope so, because I don't want to do this alone_. "I'm not really sure, but we'll manage, right?"

"Right." Her mother softly agreed, sceptically. Elizabeth tried to smile to reassure her, but what was the point? She was her mother, _she was going to kill him_.

TBC...

Hope you like, I love hearing feedback about which parts you like and think are funny because it's good advice as I'm writing this as I go along. Next post will probably be post-Christmas. :)


	11. Chapter 11

So sorry for the wait!! Enjoy and please review! Reviews make it all worthwhile and, as I'm writing this as I go, it helps me figure out what bits you guys like the best!

**Chapter 11:**

Looking out of the front window, Elizabeth sighed as the taxi rolled to a stop in front of her mother's house. Inside that car was a man who had caused her more grief, more annoyance, more heartache, more laughter and more happiness than any other man in her life. Would everything have been different if he'd never sat in that chair? If she'd never disregarded his record and asked him to join her on the journey of a lifetime? She looked at him as he got out of the car, surveying his surroundings; she really looked at him. Elizabeth had never liked bad boys, or even men with a childish streak; she'd always dated men who were mature, intelligent and who knew exactly what they wanted. The men Elizabeth had been with had life plans and career goals; John Sheppard just lived from day to day and, as he paid the taxi driver and started to climb the porch, Elizabeth Weir finally appreciated the fact that she'd be perfectly content to live her life like that, from day to day, with him.

Elizabeth shook her head in resignation. She hadn't loved John, past tense. She was in love with him right there and then and probably had been for years. _Typical_. Elizabeth stepped away from the window and slowly walked to the door, collecting her thoughts. Should she tell him? Or should she just keep her feelings to herself? She had known he had felt the same previously and pushed him away, but did he love her still? Or worse, did he feel the same but felt that it was best if they didn't confuse things, what with her being fat and pregnant? Or worst of all, she bit her lip nervously, how he felt or she felt meant absolutely jack shit because, in John's I.O.A ultimatum of baby vs. Atlantis, the City of the Ancients had won.

"Elizabeth?"

She sighed sadly.

"Elizabeth? I can see you through the door, d'you think you could open it?"

Elizabeth startled, finally noticing his presence. "Oh sorry, right...of course." Opening the door, she was greeted with John's signature flyboy grin. _That grin is responsible for so much_. Despite her feelings, Elizabeth still allowed herself to rue the day she ever met Major J. Sheppard.

"Hi honey, I'm home!" He grinned broadly. She could only raise an eyebrow. He pouted. "I'm happy to see you, why aren't you happy to see me?"

"You're happy? Wait until you meet my mother." Elizabeth walked back into the front room and sat down on the sofa, lazily.

"Okay, enough. You scared me enough on the phone. I get it; she's gonna hate me. I've come to terms with it." He put his suitcase by the stairs and sat down on the sofa opposite her; he looked out of place...uncomfortable. John and floral patterns did not mix.

He cocked his head to the side and frowned at her obvious observations. "What?"

"Nothing..." She rubbed her forehead, tiredly.

"Are you okay?" He asked concerned, leaning forward, elbows on his legs.

"Fine. Great, in fact." She snapped. "Hungry?"

"Sure," John replied automatically; he recognised that in Elizabeth's current mood it was best to just do what she said.

"There's a casserole in the fridge that you can help yourself to." She pinched the bridge of her nose, evidently stressed.

"Oh, that's okay." John smiled gratefully.

She scowled. "You said you were hungry?!"

"Yeah well, if you made that casserole in _this_ frame of mind, then I'm a little worried that you might have poisoned it." Elizabeth couldn't help the small smile that crept on her face. "Ha! I saw that! You smiled!...You sure that you're okay?"

She tilted her head and stared at him for a moment. She wanted to ask how the meetings back in Colorado went, but she couldn't. The words seemed to lodge themselves in her throat; how the hell was she and her baby supposed to compete with Atlantis? _It's Atlantis, for fuck's sake!_ "...fuck."

John raised both eyebrows at her profanity. "Excuse me?" He asked amusedly.

Elizabeth continued to stare at him seriously. "John, I...I want you to know that I'm still-"

The front door flew open as Margaret Weir entered the room. John leapt from his seat immediately. Elizabeth saw him swallow nervously and felt strangely smug because of it and looked back at her mother who just stood there...saying nothing, standing still and not trying to pretend she wasn't scrutinising the man in her living room.

"Er, hello Mrs. Weir, how are you? Elizabeth's said so many nice things about her wonderful mum, you, and thank you so much for letting me stay in your house, it's really beautiful, I love your front yard, are those English roses that you're growing outside? They're really beautiful...too. I used to do a bit of gardening when I was in high school for...money, not to spend on alcohol or anything, but, you know, for going to the movies and stuff...so, you know, if you ever need a helping hand I'm happy to get my hands dirty...in a gardening sense, if you know what I mean." John held his hand out to shake hers, finally drawing breath.

"You like to talk a lot, don't you?" Margaret raised an eyebrow, ignoring his outstretched hand.

John swallowed again and let his hand slowly drop to his hand. He tried for humour. "It's a family trait that eyebrow thing, huh?"

"Excuse me?" Margaret asked, exasperated.

"Mother," Elizabeth smiled graciously, intervening, "Did you go shopping?" She nodded towards the bags in her mother's hands.

She stared hard at John before slowly turning her gaze to her daughter. "Of course," handing her daughter one of the bags, "it's for you – some maternity wear. You cannot keep wearing such baggy clothes otherwise no one will know that you're pregnant and instead they'll merely assume you just like food too much."

Elizabeth grinded her teeth and opened the bag, pulling out a blue chiffon maternity shirt. John started to snigger, but one glare from Elizabeth instantly shut him up. "It's _frilly_."

Her mother sighed patiently. "It's Ralph Lauren."

Her daughter rolled her eyes. "Barring the fact that it is frilly and made of a material I would never ever wear-"

"Chiffon, dear."

"- yeah okay, barring all that, why would you buy me an expensive shirt which I'm only going to have a few months to wear before it is perfectly useless?

"Well," Her mother took the top from her and put it gently back into the bag, "you two might have another baby, someday. A little brother or sister for this one."

Elizabeth glared at her mother, hoping that alone was enough to get the woman to stop talking. "_Mum_..." She said, warningly.

"What?" She asked innocently, looking at John once more. "Don't you want to be a proper family? I assume you're going to marry my daughter _Major_ Sheppard." His rank was spoken with obvious distaste.

John looked at Elizabeth for help; his eyes pleading for what to say. She wished she could help him, but she had nothing. Margaret Weir had made it quite clear the day before that she was going to 'have words with this John Sheppard' and, until she did, there would be no peace and quiet in the Weir household. _How he fares now_, Elizabeth thought, _will form my mother's opinion of him for the rest of her life._ So, she merely shrugged at him. He looked at her questioningly. She shrugged again. _I don't know_, she tried to say with her eyes, _just make it up! If you can't handle my mother, how the hell do you expect to handle a baby?!_ He turned back to her mother, standing straighter.

"Yes, mam."

"What?!" The Weir women asked simultaneously.

John smiled at Margaret. "We just thought it would be best to wait until after the baby's born."

Margaret's icy glare instantaneously melted. "Well don't be silly, my dear John, the wedding will have to be before the baby's born, it's only right." She grinned at him. "This is so exciting! I'm so glad you've come to this decision and I bet you two are happier for it, oh Elizabeth, I can't believe you kept me in suspense." She kissed her stunned daughter on the cheek. "There is so much to do, but that can wait! Oh my! I'm gonna go phone everyone!" And with that, she shoved her shopping bags into her catatonic daughter's arms and ran up the stairs.

John smiled at Elizabeth and held his arms out as if to say 'what a job well done!'. She looked at him horrified for another moment before dumping the bags on the sofa. She spun around to face him again.

"WHAT WAS THAT?!"

"What's wrong?" John frowned, puzzled.

"Yes, mam! YES, MAM! I don't remember us being engaged, John! I don't remember us being in a relationship! We're not even casually dating! You just dumped Mindy!"

"Oh, for crying out loud! Her name is Mandy!!! And YOU SHRUGGED!!" He yelled back at her.

She waited for more, but apparently he felt that answer was sufficient. _What the hell does that mean?!_ "I shrugged! What do you mean 'I shrugged'?! I don't...when did I...WHAT?!"

"She said 'I assume you're gonna marry my daughter' and I looked at you for an answer and you shrugged!! A 'well, I guess' kind of shrug! Not the most positive answer a guy wants to get, but there was no ring or kneeling so I thought fair enough-"

"THAT was not a 'well, I guess' kind of shrug! That was a 'my mother is about to embark on the Spanish inquisition and you're on your own because, frankly, I can't be assed to help you when I've already had to deal with her, so you are going to have to figure out how to tell her that we don't plan to get married' kind of a shrug!!"

John shook his head in pure disbelief. "Are you crazy?! How was I ever going to get all of that, whatever the hell you said, from a shrug!"

"Is everything all right down there?" They heard Margaret call from upstairs.

"Everything's fine mum! I just...dropped one of the bags!" Elizabeth called back up the stairs, shaking her head wearily at John. "I can't believe this." She hissed at him. "She's on the phone telling all my family! What are we supposed to do?"

"Get married." John snarled at her. "Like we should have done in the first place."

"Oh yeah, we're a match made in heaven; it's not like we argue at every turn or anything." She said sarcastically, folding her arms over her chest.

"I'm sorry dear, did you just say you dropped the bags?" Margaret called again.

Elizabeth looked up at the ceiling, her patience disappearing rapidly. "YES!!"

John walked up to Elizabeth, annoyed. "We have to try Elizabeth for _our_ child, so stop being so selfish and just marry me."

Elizabeth sighed, dejectedly. "Why are you pushing this? What-"

"Elizabeth! I bought china! Be careful with those bags!"

Elizabeth only just stopped herself from stamping her foot. "MOTHER!! WOULD YOU JUST SHUT UP?!?"

Silence.

John smiled and casually put his hands in his pockets. "Keep talking to your mother like that and I think she'll be too busy yelling at you to hate me."

Elizabeth opened her mouth to make another sarcastic comment, but closed it again. She looked at him, hard, waiting for him...to do anything. But, he just stared back, unflinchingly; he had laid his cards on the table. It was her turn.

"Okay." She said, simply.

"...okay?" He raised a questioning eyebrow.

"Let's get married."

TBC...


	12. Chapter 12

Hope you enjoy and please, please review, I'm writing as I go along remember so feedback is appreciated.

**Chapter 12:**

"Well, I think this will probably go down as the worst decision of my life..." Elizabeth muttered, as she turned to the side to see what the dress looked like at the back. With a long train, the silk dress had a beautiful empire line embellished with crystals and intricate thread work. Why? Because she was wedding dress shopping with her mother. She felt like she was having a bad dream in which she'd tried pinching herself on more than one occasion to no avail. '**Margaret Weir and her family request the pleasure of your company at the marriage of her daughter Elizabeth Anne to Major. John Michael Sheppard at St. Patrick's Church, Washington DC at 2 o'clock on June 4th and afterwards at the Davall Country Club'**. _Oh dear God_.

"And here's the lovely veil that goes with the dress, Miss Weir." The chirpy little boutique assistant smiled as she showed her mother the veil.

"Oh that's beautiful..." Margaret smiled softly, as she sipped at the champagne she had been offered; she crossed her legs in the beige armchair. _Everything in here is beige_, Elizabeth sighed inwardly.

"Yeah, sure, that's...great." Elizabeth tried to smile enthusiastically.

Her mother rolled her eyes. "It's Vera Wang Elizabeth, you could at least attempt at being excited...honestly. It goes wonderfully with your gown."

"Yeah about that, don't you think I should wear something other than white? I mean, I think the jig is up." She said, motioning to her protruding belly. The shop assistant smiled uncomfortably.

"Ignore her, my daughter has a very odd sense of humour." Elizabeth raised an eyebrow; her mother sighed. "Fine. Perhaps we can have a look at the cream dresses. There was one with the sleeves that was nice, very ethereal, don't you think?"

Elizabeth gave a small, thankful smile at her mother's compromise. "Better, I think."

The assistant nodded in assent and walked out of the room to retrieve the next dress. Elizabeth pulled the white dress down uncomfortably and turned back round to look in the mirror again; she felt like a bleached white whale.

"Now Elizabeth, I wanted to know your thoughts on the flower arrangements, Father Jacob said that the church could accommodate..." Elizabeth stopped listening to her mother. She couldn't believe this was happening; she could barely be civil to John after he'd uttered the words 'yes mam' to her mother and now, in a little over 3 weeks, she was going to be his wife. She loved John deeply but she had pushed him away because she was scared how she felt would jeopardise their careers and, she hated to admit, she was also terrified of letting some get that close, of someone being that committed to her. _Well, I was worrying for nothing! I lost my job anyway because I got pregnant and because I got pregnant, John is making the ultimate commitment to me by marrying me!_ "...and, nobody will know tomorrow that it's actually an engagement party! And then you and darling John will give the big announcement that you'll soon be Mr and Mrs. Sheppard! Don't worry dear, I'll tell you what sort of things to say but you'll need-"

"Sorry..." Elizabeth shook herself from her inner thoughts. "What? What engagement party?" She fought the urge to pull down her dress again and turned around to face her mother.

Margaret reached into her purse and pulled out her compact. "Please try to use an alternative word to 'what' dear, it's not very becoming." She twisted her lipstick and started to reapply it.

Elizabeth sighed in annoyance. "Apologies. But what is this about an engagement party?"

"It's not as if this is the first you've heard about this. Tomorrow night, Congressman Brimsby's house, there are going to be over 200 people there. He was very excited to hear you were _finally_ tying the knot with someone and told me he wouldn't want you to have a party anywhere else, but everyone thinks it's just one of his soirées so your announcement will be the piece de resistance of the whole affair-" Her mother replied casually, as she looked into her compact mirror.

Elizabeth held a hand to stop her. "No, what I heard, what _you_ said to me, was that you wanted to have a family meal and then John and I could tell everyone."

Margaret nodded, her patience wearing thin. "Yes, Elizabeth. And all your family are going to be there, but once I invited Great Uncle Albert and your cousins from New York, I thought, well, it's only right that the Warners should hear you are getting married too, because they practically are family, as should the Jones, the Petersons, the Marwells, the Campbells and the Brimsbys. And, of course, when I told Geoff Brimsby, he insisted we invite all your political work colleagues and friends and you know the Vice President's family will want to be there, as will Senator Hull, he's always had such a soft spot for you-"

"Stop talking!" Elizabeth held out her arms questioningly. "What are you doing? Great Uncle Albert? Geoff Brimsby? _Senator Hull?_ Mum, when you said _family meal_, I thought you meant close family. You know, enough to sit around one table for, I don't know, a _family meal_." She said, dripping with sarcasm. "This is too many people, I can't...you're going to scare John away, you know that, right?"

Margaret ignored her question. "Speaking of John, does he have _anyone_ he wants to be at the party? Understandably, we're in D.C so his family aren't around, but it doesn't look good. And it will certainly look very odd at the wedding so I've decided we're not going to stick to the traditional set-up of bride's family on one side, groom's on the other and just spread everyone around a bit more, yes?"

"Here's that dress you wanted." The assistant walked back in with a beautiful cream dress with delicate sleeves, very reminiscent of the 1940s. _Lovely_. _Simple_. Elizabeth could picture herself in a dress like that.

Margaret shook her head, decidedly. "No. I don't think so." _Typical_. "Too plain. Elizabeth?"

Elizabeth shrugged her shoulders resigned. "Whatever, mum. Whatever you want, whatever you say." The assistant nodded faithfully and walked straight out of the room again to find something else.

"Excuse me?" Her mother snapped her compact shut.

"Why don't you marry John seeing as this is turning out to be your wedding?"

"That is unfair Elizabeth and I'll remind you who's paying for this wedding." Margaret raised an eyebrow, daring her daughter to argue back.

"This isn't a wedding, mother, this is a circus! 200 guests to an engagement party? How big is the actual wedding going to be? I said I wanted small and intimate; this isn't it. And I told you that John and myself could pay for the wedding, I've earned good money over the years and I've never bought expensive jewellery or fast cars so I can easily pay for this whole charade that you've orchestrated!" Elizabeth walked down the steps from the mirror and went behind the dressing screen.

"I'm paying because that is what your father would have wanted, so stop acting like a spoilt brat and learn to be a little more thankful. You have hundreds of people who love you and who want to share your special day with you Elizabeth Anne Weir, not everybody is so fortunate!"

Moments later, Elizabeth stormed out from behind the screen, pulling her tee-shirt over her head. "No, mum! Dad would have wanted what I wanted, because that was always the difference between you two. You thought everything that makes _you_ happy in life would make me happy too, whilst Dad always knew I had to figure out how to find happiness _on my own_." Elizabeth sighed unhappily, no longer angry or frustrated, but just tired. "I don't know if John has anyone he wants to invite to this engagement party or if there is anybody he wants at the wedding, but we will be there tomorrow and I will be pleasant to everyone and we will make the announcement. I will have the big wedding with the luxurious wedding venue and expensive flowers and you and I will share the cost. John never needs to know how much. I will pick a dress myself, _on my own_, and it probably won't be Vera Wang." Margaret went to interrupt, but Elizabeth raised a hand to silence her. "I will happily have the wedding that you have dreamed that I would always have because I love you very much, but you need to let me breathe mum, let me get used to the fact that I'm going to be a wife and a mother because all of this has happened really fast, even too fast. If I leave you to be the wedding planner, can I just...breathe a little?"

Margaret smiled at her beautiful daughter, a little ruffled at her daughter's outburst but proud of her in the same moment. "You can breathe and I will make everything perfect." She kissed her daughter lovingly on the cheek. "But if you walk down that aisle in anything other colour than cream, I'll kill you."

"Of course." Elizabeth smiled indulgently. "Just as long as you know that hell will have to freeze over before I sign my name, Mrs Sheppard. I'm sticking with Weir, it's a good name. My father gave me that name."

Margaret nodded a little, cupping her daughter's cheek. "Yes, he did and he was a good man. I know he would have wanted to walk you to the altar."

"Oh I don't know," Elizabeth grinned and shrugged nonchalantly, "Great Uncle Albert and his zimmer frame could make an excellent substitute, I'm sure."

TBC....


	13. Chapter 13

Very prompt this time, please enjoy and review!!

**Chapter 13:**

"A party, huh?" John asked casually from under the sink. It had been playing up for a while and Margaret had asked 'darling John' if he could take a look. John, forever trying to impress his mother-in-law-to-be happily said he'd fix it, just like he fixed the bathroom light fixture, her late husband's antique gramophone and her car. Margaret thought it was important that he learned to be helpful around the house, but Elizabeth believed it was almost slave labour; John wanted her approval and her mother was taking advantage of that.

"Uh-huh...just a party." Elizabeth replied innocently as she flicked absentmindedly through the Washington Post. She made a conscious effort today to be a lot nicer to John; she needed to butter him up. Whilst comfortable with people he knew or with people he had things in common with, John had proven to Elizabeth on various occasions in the past to be very shy in an, she hated to say, 'upper crust' environment, where bureaucrats were rife and every woman in the room wore pearls and she was about to throw him into a party of about 200 of D.C's finest: politicians, academics, businessmen, all their families...many of them snobs. _Oh, and my entire family_. She thought wryly. _There is no way he is gonna want to marry me after tonight_.

"So we're not having the sit-down meal anymore? Is the party going to be here?" He asked, pulling a spanner out the toolbox.

"Er, no. No, the party will be held at mum's friend's house Geoff. He often has these...um, small, little cocktail parties and he thought we could tell everyone then. It should be good."

"Oh, sure...are the same people still going?" John said, breathing heavily as he tried to twist the old pipes.

"Yeah, my mum's sisters Judith and Abigail will be there as will Dad's brothers and their kids...and a few others." She sipped her cup of tea, nonchalantly.

"A few others?" John asked curiously coming out from under the sink to test the taps.

"Uh-huh. A few others." Elizabeth smiled at him, the picture of innocence.

Satisfied his work was complete, John wiped his hands on the kitchen towel and lent against the sink counter. "Elizabeth," he asked, seriously, "how many people are going to be at this guy Geoff's house?"

She grimaced, knowing his reaction. "Two hundred."

His eyes widened and paused for a moment. "Two hundred people?" She nodded unwillingly. "Wow, that's...that's a lot of people." He swallowed nervously.

"I know, I know...I am _so _sorry." She closed the paper and looked at him earnestly. "Honestly, if I had known earlier what my mother had planned, I would have stopped her, or at least found an appropriate excuse for us not to go-"

"Elizabeth-" He stepped away from the sink and made his way to the kitchen table.

"You don't want to go," She interrupted, "I don't want to go, but she would really appreciate it if...I mean I know she probably can't be your favourite person in the world right now, but she's still my mum and-"

"_Elizabeth_," He tried again, sinking into the chair next to her.

"We don't have to stay long, we can make our announcement before they've even began serving drinks-"

"Stop!" He laid a hand over hers, stunning her into silence; she looked down at their hands. "It's okay." He grinned at her. "I like parties."

She sighed, unconvinced, knowing John was just saying this to either make her feel better, please her mother again, or both. "John...you know the sort of people who are going to be there, right? These people are, what you have often referred to as, the blood-sucking, moronic, selfish-"

"They are your friends," she looked at him pointedly. "Fine, a few of them are your friends and most of them are your mother's." He conceded. "Nevertheless, we _will_ go to this party."

"_Nevertheless_?" She grinned at him.

John rolled his eyes. "Jeez, now you have a problem with 'nevertheless'? Any word that even hints at sophistication and you look at me liking I'm speaking Russian."

"Vy govorite po-russki?" She sipped at her tea, casually.

He narrowed his eyes at her, unable to stop himself from grinning at her "Shut up, you."

She laughed before they fell into comfortable silence. "What did you say to them?" She blurted out the question that had been on her mind for weeks.

"Say to who?" He asked distractedly, as he stole her paper and began to look through it.

She paused, suddenly scared to see the question through. "...the IOA."

John looked up then; they gazed at each other. He knew exactly what part of the IOA interrogation she was referring to. "They asked me to choose. I said there was no choice. I want to be with my child...I want to be with you, Elizabeth...always have." He said simply, as if his answer was completely obvious.

A relieved breath left her, and she smiled softly at him, lovingly at him. She opened her mouth to speak, but found that no words could express the gratitude, the love, that she had for him, realising that she was a fool for ever doubting him. He had chosen her and he'd spent every moment since then trying to fit into her life, make this work, be the best father, the best husband, the best son-in-law...the best man he could be. So, she did all that she could do and lent forward and softly brushed her lips against his. John went rigid for a moment, but quickly recovered from his shock and returned the kiss ardently. After a few moments they broke apart, and she rested her hand on his cheek, caressing his five o'clock shadow.

"...Thank you." She whispered. It wasn't 'I love you', but it was close and the contented look on his face told her that he didn't need those three little words to know how she felt. The kiss had told him all he needed to know.

"You're welcome." He whispered back, and leant back in his chair, not caring that he was grinning like the cat that got the cream.

"You want me to make some of my killer chocolate chip pancakes? " She grinned back. "It's the least I can do for fixing the sink."

"Sounds good to me." He said smugly, folding his hands behind his head.

* * *

"Morning, mum." Elizabeth yawned as she walked in the kitchen in her Harvard sweatshirt and polka dot pyjama bottoms that she'd slept in.

"Morning sweetheart." Margaret smiled at her daughter as she turned on the coffee maker. "I'm going to pick up Sedge today from the kennels, if that's alright with you?"

_It's about time!_ During Elizabeth's time on Atlantis her mother had worried about her daughter's safety and continuously complained that there was just no reason why her daughter couldn't pick up the phone and call her every so often, but Margaret Weir's biggest problem with her daughter's, what she could only describe as, 'disappearance' was looking after Sedgewick. A lovely dog for her beloved owner, but acted like a spoilt puppy when Elizabeth wasn't there. Unsurprisingly, Simon had left Sedge with her mother within a month of Elizabeth's leaving. The result: Mrs Weir sent her to the kennels for a few days once every couple of months because she had simply had enough. Annoyed at Elizabeth for having an illegitimate child, her mother had declared that dogs were dirty, filthy animals and she would not have her unborn grandchild put at risk. Last night, however, had obviously been enough for her mum to let poor Sedge out of the doghouse, so to speak.

"That sounds wonderful, Mum. I've missed her so much...I went to the kennels last weekend and she's seemed to have made some doggy friends." Elizabeth said, relieved at her mother's sudden change of heart.

"That's nice, dear..." Her mother said, distractedly, not particularly bothered by Sedge's social life. "I'll make you some chocolate chip pancakes if you want, your favourite." She offered, getting the milk from the fridge.

_Chocolate chips pancakes as well? She really was impressed last night_. As promised, John and Elizabeth went to the party and, to her mother's pleasure, John proved himself to be quite the schmoozer. Whilst he'd been nervous at first, his flyboy charm quickly had the ladies declaring him to be, in the words of Senator Hull's wife, a 'real dish' and the men of the party soon warmed up to him when they discovered he was a decorated Air Force Major. Elizabeth snorted inwardly; of course, it wasn't all plain sailing. Her stuck-up Aunt Judith quietly declared to her that he simply didn't come from the 'right stock' and, whilst her slightly nutty Aunt Abby could be relied on to love everyone and everything, Elizabeth had to rescue John from her on more than one occasion as she tried to read his palm and educate him on the best tantric sex positions for a pregnant woman. Her dad's brothers, easy-going Uncle Martin, a cardiac surgeon who lived in New York, and fun-loving Uncle Robert, a writer for the Wall Street Journal, were not so easily impressed. Being the youngest cousin and the only girl on dad's side of the family meant that her Uncle Weirs felt it was their place to fill in the over-protective, over-judgmental, father-figure gap where her father would have been. They did not like the fact that they hadn't met him before now, and they certainly did not like the fact that she found out she was pregnant before he'd even proposed, but eventually, as her Uncle Bob had even admitted, "..whilst grilling the boy has been fun, all I need to do is look at you and know you're making the right decision. You've never looked happier, kid." All in all, he'd gone down a treat; he was intelligent, he was witty, he looked good and he wasn't a Republican and that was good enough for Elizabeth's friends and family.

Elizabeth was shaken out of her ponderings by the object of her thoughts entering the room. All thoughts of making chocolate chip pancakes left Margaret's head at once. "Here's the man of the hour!" She said proudly, giving him a loving tap on the cheek. "I was just telling Elizabeth how I knew you were going to be fabulous!"

John, taken aback by such affection and from being called 'fabulous', smiled graciously at Margaret, before grabbing himself a mug and pouring himself some coffee.

"You did?" Elizabeth whispered sarcastically at her mother.

"Well, I was about to..." Her mother defended, taking it upon herself to usher John to sit down at the kitchen table whilst she made him the coffee herself. "Do you like pancakes, John?" Elizabeth rolled her eyes and sat next to John; this morning it was quite clear who was the golden child.

"Well, I-"

"Or French toast? You want French toast?"

"Sure." John smiled. "Whatever is going is fine by me, mam."

"'Mam'? Oh no dear, you must stop that now. We are going to be family! No more 'mam' or 'Mrs Weir'...just call me Margaret." She smiled at him, again, before setting about to making some French toast.

Elizabeth turned to face John, grinning. "Margaret? My word, she certainly does like you. I dated Simon for five years and she still insisted he call her Mrs Weir."

"I must have a 'je ne sais quoi' about me that warrants me calling her Margaret." He said proudly.

"There can be no doubt." She agreed, still smiling.

"So!" Margaret said loudly, interrupting their little tête-à-tête. "What have we got planned today then? I thought I would take you two lovebirds to Macy's and buy you a crib. What do you think?"

"Oh...that's sweet of you, mum." Elizabeth smiled appreciatively. "But John was talking to me last night about a really beautiful house that he drove past the other day and it's on the market, so we thought that we'd go find a good house retailer."

Margaret leaned against the kitchen counter, stunned. "Oh...I, you have found a house?"

"Oh mum..." Elizabeth muttered sadly, taking in her mother's crestfallen face; despite the arguing and the frustrations having the two Weir women under one roof caused, Elizabeth knew her mother enjoyed having her company and, when they left, she would be all alone...again.

"You must be sick of us by now!" John said, trying to be cheerful. "We figured that we'll need a place of own before the baby is born and, whilst the house I saw may not be _the_ house, we should really start looking. Don't you think, Margaret?"

"That's Mrs Weir to you, young man." She said coldly, blinking away any tears.

Elizabeth stood up from the table, walked up to her mother and held both her hands in her own. "It's not going to be like before, mum. I'm not going off to God knows where...John wants us to stay in D.C, as do I...we're going to be close by and this way you will be able to be the best grandmother in the world without having to live 24/7 with a screaming baby." She tried for a little humour, but her mother saw nothing funny about. She was heartbroken.

"You say it as if it would be a burden. It's my _grandchild_, I would happily share my home with my grandchild!" She wrenched her hands free from her daughter's.

"_Mum_..." Elizabeth sighed, willing her mother to understand.

"Fine, Elizabeth. Or as you like to say..._whatever_." She hissed, before stalking out of the room leaving a sad Elizabeth and confused John in her wake.

As they heard her stomp up the staircase, John scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "So much for 'call me Margaret'." He muttered.

"And you can take that mongrel of a dog with you!!" They heard her call out from upstairs, followed by the slamming of a door. Elizabeth sighed once more, her mother proving yet again that she seemed to have dual personalities, but she knew that her mother was in pain. And that's what Weirs did when they were hurting, either kept it bottled deep down or got _really _pissed off.

John merely sat there, his jaw on the floor. "What, John?" Elizabeth asked, annoyed at how the conversation had gone.

"_Mongrel of a dog_? That's a nice thing to call the guy who fixed your sink!"

TBC...

Please, please review...they are my bread and butter and what makes writing these stories worth writing; it's really helpful to hear you feedback. (Oh and in Russian Elizabeth is asking 'do you speak russian'...I hope)


	14. Chapter 14

Again, enjoy! And I love reviews! Keep 'em coming because they give me great ideas as to what to do next! (NB: I've had a little slip where I've been calling John Major instead of Colonel so I'm changing it to colonel like I did at the beginning of the story.)

**Chapter 14:**

"Well...she hates me." John sighed resignedly as he flinched at another price tag for a crib.

Elizabeth merely shrugged before pointing at another crib in the store. "What about that one? That's nice, traditional-"

"_Elizabeth_..." he whined, following her across the shopfloor. "This is the part where you're supposed to say 'of course she doesn't hate you John, you're just overreacting, my mother _adores_ you.'"

She raised a mocking eyebrow. "Now John, that would just be a lie, wouldn't it..." She pretended to admonish as she started looking through the racks of baby clothes.

"Is this how our marriage is going to be? Me looking for support and you cutting me down..." He over-exaggerated, groaning as he looked at another crib price tag.

"It's how we've defined our relationship so far, I see no real reason to change." She smiled jokingly as he tried to look affronted before he sighed again; she stopped herself from rolling her eyes. "Oh would you please stop pouting? You've been doing it all morning. So, you're not in my mum's good books right now, _big deal_...the woman can hold a grudge, I'll admit, but, with a wedding just around the corner, she'll soon snap herself out of it and she'll be your number one fan again...satisfied?" She smiled.

"Satisfied." He agreed begrudgingly. "...but I thought you were my number one fan?" He pouted childishly again.

This time she gave into the urge to roll her eyes. "Why would I ever want a baby when I can have you?"

His face split into a grin. "Well, I try." He said smugly.

"I'll leave it to you to tell my mum that we've found the house we want then?" She smiled as she walked over to the prams.

The grin fell off his face immediately. "Do you want her to kill me?"

"Well, talking to my mum can sometimes be like ripping off a band-aid...it's better just to get it over with." She tested a pram, pushing it back and forth.

"I don't know...I like your mum's house, it's a bit grand but homely...we could just stay put, if you want." John shrugged casually.

Elizabeth titled her head to the side. "You're _that_ scared of her, huh?"

"It's not like there's a lack of space. I don't know how three of you ever filled that place, you could invite the Waltons to stay and still have spare rooms!"

"It never was just the three of us..." Elizabeth contemplated quietly. "Uncle Martin used to live close so his three sons used to be always over either happily keeping me company or trying to kill me. Aunt Abby and Judith would always be with my mother in the kitchen laughing over either coffee or martinis and Dad loved to bring home some...character, either some ground-breaking lawyer or politician who was the toast of the academic society or just a guy he'd met on the subway who he thought had the potential to be brilliant..." She smiled wistfully at the memory and looked up at John's sympathetic face. "Every room in that house used to be filled with...something special, and then...he died, my dad died, collapsed out of the blue, and it was all over. My mum pretended like he had never existed for the first year and when she finally woke up from that nightmare and was willing to move on, it was just me and her. It will always feel like _my_ house...it has so many memories, some good, some not so good, but mum should have sold it a long time ago, maybe it would have stopped her living in the past or something, I don't know. _But,_ what I do know, is that I want to start a fresh for the baby...for us, I think it's important and hopefully my mother will learn to realise that."

John scratched his jaw pensively. "We picked a good house, not too big, wooden floors, quirky little add-ons here and there, good porch with a great porch swing and a huge backyard-"

"-which goes down to a little stream and a willow tree..." Elizabeth smiled.

John nodded. "It's a good house."

"It's a _great_ house." She corrected; he smiled again in agreement and kissed her gently on the mouth, his hand on her belly as he did so.

* * *

"We're back!" Elizabeth called as she and John stepped through the front door, arms full of shopping from various baby stores. Dumping the bags by the stairs, she placed the car keys on the coffee table.

"Maybe she's gone out." John suggested, closing the door behind them and placing his bags with hers.

Elizabeth frowned. "But her car is in the drive."

"I'm in the parlour Elizabeth!" Her mum called from another room.

"The _parlour_?" John raised his eyebrows, smiling. "I've been here how long and I _still_ haven't seen every room in this house. Where is the parlour? _What_ is a parlour?"

Elizabeth frowned again. "It's like the living room, but much bigger with the posh furniture and bigger windows; it's the main entrance to the garden." She said absentmindedly, walking through her father's study in order to get to the parlour.

"You mean you have posher furniture than that antique stuff back there?" He said incredulously, pointing back at the living room as he followed her.

"Why would she be in the parlour?" She asked herself, ignoring him and opening the door to the parlour. "She hasn't used that room since Daddy-"

"SURPRISE!" Elizabeth and John both recoiled in shock. The room was full of about thirty people, most of them being familiar faces, Uncle Martin, Uncle Robert, Aunt Judith and Aunt-

"Teyla!" Elizabeth breathed as her eyes finally rested on the small party at the back of the room. Teyla, Rodney, Ronan, Carson, Katie Brown, Laura Cadman, Jack O'Neill and Hank Landry were all standing there, some quite awkwardly, smiling at them patiently.

"I thought you might want an engagement party more to your liking, Elizabeth...what do you think?" Her mother smiled nervously, clutching a glass of champagne. Elizabeth smiled. There were still hors d'oeuvres, champagne, waiters and a harpist playing to the side of the large room, but her mother had kept it small and invited the people her daughter liked and _that_ was a first. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw John stroll happily over to their friends, but Elizabeth ignored her mum's question and pulled her into a great hug.

Wrapping her arms around her and kissing her cheek, Elizabeth closed her eyes willing herself not to cry. Pulling back from the embrace, she grinned at her mother, close to tears, but not. "I love you." She breathed.

Margaret's eyes betrayed some surprise but she quickly returned the sentiment in them. She wouldn't voice it, of course, hardly anyone in her family could, but Elizabeth could read her mother loud and clear. "You're welcome, dear." She patted her daughter on the arm affectionately. "Darling Jonathan was the only work friend from your secret military work that I knew about," she nodded towards Jack O'Neill who gave a wink and nodded in their direction, "and he was only too happy to fly some of your good friends from who knows where to be here for the wedding and I thought...well, why not have another engagement party...one that _you_ would enjoy..."

Elizabeth kissed her mother on the cheek again. "Thank you."

"Oi!" Laura Cadman called out across the room. "What's a girl gotta do to get a 'hello' around here?"

If Margaret Weir was slightly taken aback by her daughter's friend's manners, she said nothing. She merely smiled and urged Elizabeth to go reunite herself with her much missed friends.

* * *

"I still can't believe you are getting married...but some things are meant to be, I guess." Laura teased, as Elizabeth blushed. "So you're looking decidedly more pregnant since the last time we saw you," Laura joked; Elizabeth's second engagement party now in full swing. "Are you sure your waters aren't gonna break before you say your 'I do's?"

Elizabeth raised an unamused eyebrow. "Well, if they do, I'll be counting on you to deliver this baby."

Katie smirked. "Well, Laura can't be midwife, she's already got a far more important job!"

Laura sighed unhappily. "Yeah, are you sure about that by the way? I'm sure Teyla and Katie can do a fine job by themselves." She looked at Elizabeth, pleadingly.

"Doing what?" Elizabeth smiled bemused.

"Being your bridesmaids, of course!" Katie grinned. "I am so excited! Your mum showed us the fabric, such a beautiful shade of green, I can't wait!"

Elizabeth looked across the room at her mother who was happily chatting away to Jack O'Neill and Hank Landry and gave a half-hearted glare. _Baby steps...remember this party is a wonderful gesture...you can't expect her to all of a sudden morph into someone she's not...baby steps..._ "Oh, Laura...you'll have fun and you don't look half bad in green!" Elizabeth smiled evilly.

"Geez, thanks." Laura muttered, sarcastically. "On a more interesting note though" Laura brightened up, "_who_ are they?" The Lieutenant gestured towards Elizabeth's cousins, Peter and Robin; Elizabeth rolled her eyes, but couldn't help but smile. _Something's never change_. Uncle Martin's boys were still the same heartbreakers they had been since they were sixteen and Laura was still on the look-out for fresh meat.

* * *

"No McKay! Over my dead body!" John shook his head, disgusted.

Ronan smirked knowingly. "Told you it would never happen."

Carson nodded, grinning. "I mean the name _Rodney_...acquired taste, don't you think?"

Rodney glared at Ronan and Carson, before turning to John once more. "Why not? All I want is a second name...Timmy _Rodney _Sheppard or-"

"No!" John held up a hand to shut Rodney up. "_Timmy? _Have you met me? There will be no Timmy and there will definitely be no Rodney!...Anyway, if I was really naming my kid after you, shouldn't I use Meredith?"

Katie spluttered on her drink. "_Excuse me_?"

* * *

"- but if you ever want me to babysit I'm just a phone call away." Jack grinned.

Elizabeth smiled back thankfully. "Mmm...you say that _now_, but when I'm crying down the phone at 3 in the morning because the baby won't sleep and John and I haven't a clue-"

"Then I'd tell you to go to hell! But, apart from at 3 in the morning, I'm all yours."

"Thank you, Jack." She smiled tearfully, her hormones causing her to cry at the drop of a hat these days, thankful that at least one of her friends wasn't going to go away again after the wedding. "...or should I say, _darling Jonathan_?" She teased.

Jack shrugged nonchalantly. "What can I say? Your mother is good for my ego...she's already told me that she thinks I'm, and I quote, one of a kind." He said proudly.

"That you are." Elizabeth acquiesced.

"Although..." Jack leant in, whispering. "I think I may have some serious competition." He nodded over to her mother who was chatting amiably, as she had done so all evening, with Hank Landry.

* * *

"-how that moron ended up in my department I will never know! He can't even make a decent cup of coffee, never mind grasp the intricate details of-"

"_Rodney_," Teyla said warningly, concerned Rodney would accidently say too much in front of Elizabeth's family.

"You have _such_ interesting friends." Aunt Judith commented diplomatically to her niece.

"They're wonderful people," Elizabeth dared her aunt to contradict her, "...Rodney takes a little getting used to, but they are very special."

Her aunt gave a non-committal sound before signalling to a waiter to give her another glass of champagne.

"_Interesting friends_, huh?" John whispered in Elizabeth's ear from behind, giving a quick peck on the cheek.

"Oh, ignore her," Elizabeth leant into him as his hands came forward and rested on her waist. "She's just jealous because-"

"-General Landry is trying to chat up your mother?" John offered, light-heartedly.

"I was going to say 'because I've got you', but...you think he's flirting with her too?" Elizabeth turned around to face him, worriedly.

"Why the face? I think it's kinda nice..." John shrugged, putting his hands in his front pockets.

"I guess...I just haven't seen her flirt with anyone since...well, since my dad." Elizabeth bit her lip, anxiously.

"Well, you're never too old for a bit of romance and maybe seeing you getting hitched to the fantastically gorgeous me has inspired her to get back on the horse, so to speak..."

"Yeah...maybe," Elizabeth tried for a smile, not entirely convinced but less concerned.

"I like Margaret Weir, she's my favourite Weir after you...she deserves to be happy." He nodded decidedly; the parlour door opened once again as a familiar face to only John walked in the room.

"John..." the man gave a quick awkward smile as he came face to face with his brother.

"Dave..." John couldn't return the smile, completely shellshocked.

"Surprise!" Margaret Weir rushed over, her smile starting to wane as she saw her son-in-law-to-be was not happy. "You must be David Sheppard," Margaret said extending her hand to the stranger, breaking the uncomfortable silence.

John glared at her. "You are fucking unbelievable." He murmured angrily.

"_John!_" Elizabeth reproached.

Margaret was stunned into silence, swallowing nervously under the heat of John's gaze. "I'm sorry I only thought..." She trailed off, looking to her daughter in confusion. "I thought you would want..."

"What the hell would you know?" John demanded, before brushing past his brother and walking out of the room.

Dave looked back at the door, unsure whether to follow John, before looking back at a very stunned room full of people. Elizabeth was rooted to the floor.

Dave stepped forward to Elizabeth, in that familiar uneasy Sheppard fashion. "I hear congratulations are in order."

**TBC....**

PLEASE REVIEW! I know so many of you have favourited this story and it would mean so much if I could just hear your opinions and your fav bits! Thank you!


	15. Chapter 15

Enjoy! And please please review! The next chapter probably won't be for a few weeks because I have uni exams but don't worry, after that, I will update!

**Chapter 15:**

"Where the _hell_ have you been?" Elizabeth demanded from the sofa, as John walked through the front door that evening.

"Nowhere...everywhere...anywhere but here." He muttered bitterly as he quietly closed the door. Since John left, the party atmosphere had quickly cooled and everyone had slowly but surely left one by one, saying their goodbyes and that they couldn't wait to see her at the wedding. Margaret, in a very subdued state, had decided it would be best if she stay the night at Aunt Abby's to let the dust settle and Dave Sheppard, the least surprised at John's reaction, took his leave also. He politely declined on Elizabeth's offer that she put him up for the night; he'd already booked into a hotel and said he would come by again in the morning. Therefore, Elizabeth had been left by herself for hours, watching the grandfather clock tick slowly until suddenly it was almost midnight. Without a telephone call to say he was alright or when she could expect him back, Elizabeth's sympathy for John had waned. She was concerned for his welfare, of course, but being left to simmer for a few hours had given her time to think. It occurred to her that, whilst she had somehow found it within herself to open up about her past and her family, John continued to be a closed book...and right now, that was pissing Elizabeth off.

"Right...well, I'm satisfied, you're still alive...goodnight." She said sharply, standing up and walking towards the stairs.

"Why do you get to be angry? What's happened to you?" John demanded, carelessly tossing the door keys on to the sofa.

"Oh you know exactly what has happened to me! Childhood anecdotes, my dad's death, my entire family, Simon, all my life's work! You ask and because I trust you, more than anyone else in the world, the words just fall out of my mouth! And yet you can't trust me..." Elizabeth shook her head in wonderment, asking herself how she hadn't seen this before.

"I trust you!" He vehemently contradicted.

"Do you?" Elizabeth sighed, realising this wasn't the first time she'd had asked him this before. "You don't tell me anything and then your brother walks in and you look at him with such hate-"

"-it's not hate, it's just-" He tried.

"Don't you want your family at the wedding? Don't you want your family to know your child? Don't you think it strange that that church is going to be full of my family but not-"

"No I don't!" He yelled at her, hurt. "And I didn't think you did either! Your _mother_, maybe but-"

"Don't refer to her like that!" She said firmly.

"Like what?" He rolled his eyes, frustrated.

"Like there should be another word after 'mother'!" She yelled at him. "Don't you take this out on her!"

"Well, she had no right! She shouldn't have invited him without telling me and where did she get his number anyway, huh? Bet the nosy old woman-"

"OUT!" She pointed at the front door.

"What?" John said taken aback.

"Get out of this house! You may not give a crap about your family, but I do about mine! How dare you talk about my mother like that! Inviting your brother may have not been her wisest decision, but her intentions were good, they always are! She wanted to make _you_ happy! She wanted to make your family feel like they were part of her family because that's what this is John! This isn't just about you and me and the baby! This is about family and, if you want to marry me, then that makes my mother part of your family too and family don't talk about each other like that! You have disagreements and rough patches, but you pull through and-"

"Elizabeth-," shaking his head to contradict her.

"No, John! You don't want to share anything about yourself with me then fine! I mean, it doesn't get our marriage off to a great start, but that's your choice...but you go speak to your brother and either tell him to piss off and have nothing to do with our family or get over whatever problems you have and forgive each other because I am not living in limbo where each time your family is mentioned or turns up out of the blue, you go nuts, swear at my mother and fuck off for seven hours!" She put her hands on her hips, determined.

"You don't understand." He said quietly, a sad smile on his face.

She raised her eyebrow, unmoved. "How can I if you don't even bother to explain it to me?...He's staying at the Swan hotel, Room 204-"

"You're a hypocrite, you know that?" He said simply.

Elizabeth's gaze faltered, hurt. "...what?" She murmured.

"Our marriage isn't going to get off to a great start, not because of _me_, but because of _you_. What are we doing?" He gestured between them.

She shook her head slightly, confused by his question. "Now? We're arguing."

"No. I mean...do you really want to get married? Or are we just doing this to keep your mother happy because _this_ isn't a relationship...a couple of kisses here and there for the last few days isn't a relationship...it shouldn't be like this." John wiped his hand over his face, tiredly.

Elizabeth took a nervous step towards, reaching her hand out to him but, thinking better of it, she let it drop down back to her side. "You're right, this isn't a relationship, not yet, but I want it to be and, if you do too, then it will be. Hey, we're getting married in less than a week so I guess we could give it a shot, right? No one can say we haven't been original in the way we've started our family." She tried to joke; her smile failed as he just looked at her, forlornly.

"I didn't want original. I just wanted you, think I always will, and you just...stopped." He drew a sharp breath, suppressing any tears.

Rubbing her stomach subconsciously, Elizabeth frowned. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"On Atlantis." Elizabeth's heart ached uncomfortably as he said the city's name. "I loved you and you loved me, but no more talks on the balcony, no more coffee morning chats, no more lunch or dinner together, no more making love, no more us...you wouldn't even give me my smile." He said hopelessly.

"John..." her voice cracked, upset.

"_My _smile, the one that you only ever direct at me when all your guards are down and every little perfectionist bit of Doctor Weir isn't in the room and it's just Elizabeth..._why_?"

"_Stop_..." She looked above his shoulder, unable to meet his gaze.

"You get bored? You didn't love me anymore?...You didn't even had the decency to dump me and put a poor guy out of his misery..." His posture slumped, dejected, miserable.

"I, um...well I..." She whispered, searching for words. Dragging her gaze to his, Elizabeth saw his need for the truth; she understood it was a 'now or never' moment. "I am sorry...I was scared and I was too much of a coward to stay with you and risk my heart being broken, too much of a coward to tell you that that was how I felt and because I didn't know what else to do, I thought it best to create distance, go back to how we were before and I was, yet again, too much of a coward to tell you face-to-face...you are perfectly correct, I just...stopped, so you could get the message that I wanted out." She said, simply and honestly, her eyes unwavering from his.

"You want out now?" His eyes still focused on hers.

She shook her head resolutely. "No. And I didn't want out then...but I was terrified, I'm always terrified..." Her mouth opened and closed, unwilling to speak further, but finally realising it was time to stop being a coward. "I'm not good at depending on other people, John. I may well be a shit wife for a long time; it's hard letting go and opening yourself up." She said, desperately, a sob escaping her.

Closing the distance between them, he pressed his lips to her brow and cupped her face. "We'll learn together, yeah?" She nodded, sniffing. "_See_..." He said, smiling for the first time in hours, wiping away the tears under the eyes with his thumb gently. "When you bother to explain it feels better, doesn't it?" Using her previous question against her, she could only smile in response; leaning in, she rested her head on his chest as his arms enveloped her in a hug. He pressed another kiss, this time to her temple. "I'm sorry I swore at your mother."

Elizabeth smiled, and stepped out of his embrace. "These things happen...I swear at her all the time, but if you could apologise..." She suggested hopefully.

"Sure." He gave a small smile.

"She really did do it out of love, you understand that?"

"I'm a man _in_ love, of course I do." He grinned at her; she beamed back at him. He looked at the ground, almost blushing, before looking back up at her more soberly. "So...er, what was the-"

"204. Room 204." Elizabeth interrupted, answering his question. He smiled again, unsurprised that she knew him so well.

"Okay." He smiled back before kissing her firmly on the lips. "I love you, Elizabeth Weir."

"I love you too."She replied smiling, inwardly quite smugly, as his demeanour lifted at her declaration.

"Well, seeing as we are to be husband and wife _and_ we're having a baby together, I have to say that us being in love is quite convenient, don't you think?" He grinned, tucking a stray curl behind her ear.

She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. "Well, it might help."

TBC...

Please review and, as I write this as I go along, I could really do with some ideas as to why Dave and John don't get along so well and how they could make up in the next chapter. Any suggestions welcome!


	16. Chapter 16

Sorry, it is so late, but I've had a hectic time with exams recently, but they've finished now so hopefully I'm back on track. Enjoy and, as always, please review!

**Chapter 16:**

"I don't understand how this has happened. I thought I was going to go see my brother today...alone...by myself." John scratched the back of his neck, anxiously.

Elizabeth looked at John, exasperated. "Then you shouldn't have finished off your apology to my mother with 'by the way, we've bought a house and we're moving in before the baby's born.'"

"She smiled! She said she was pleased for us!" John defended.

"And you believed her! Honestly! You say you got into MENSA, but sometimes I have my doubts. We're moving house and so, in an act of revenge, we are now having to show her and your brother around our house-to-be." She sighed tiredly, vaguely pointing in the direction of the lovely house that she and John had picked out together, whilst Elizabeth's mother was being given the grand tour of the backyard by the real estate broker.

"But he's going to be here any minute and he and I...well, we're practically estranged! This is the kind of meeting that should not involve you and my mother-in-law!" John tried to keep his voice down, but stress was causing it to rise both in pitch and volume.

"I know that, John." Elizabeth said calmly, holding her hands up in a placating manner. "That's why I referred to this whole situation as _an act of revenge_. Of course, this is going to be difficult and uncomfortable; she's counting on it."

"It's becoming clearer as to why you happily moved across galaxies..." He muttered, his nerves fraying.

She raised an eyebrow. "Seeing as you're on the verge of a breakdown and she's annoying me too, I'm going to let that one slide."

He gave a small smile. "That sounds almost like a compromise on your part."

She smiled wryly. "More like an effort to be nice on my part...if we're going to spend the rest of our lives together, they will be plenty more occasions where my mother's acts of revenge include a hell of a lot more than being shown around a very lovely house in the company of an estranged family member...there will come a time when you are calling her every name under the Sun..." Elizabeth shrugged in nonchalance.

"...yay." His said, without emotion. Elizabeth rolled her eyes.

"Elizabeth!" Elizabeth turned around as her mother gestured her over. With reluctance, Elizabeth waltzed over, one hand shielding her eyes from the sun, the other resting on her back relieving some pressure.

"What?" She asked, tiredly.

"Look..." her mother pointed to David Sheppard getting out of his car and making his way to his brother. "We should go and say hello."

Elizabeth laid a hand on her mother's arm. "We should leave them to talk."

Margaret rolled her eyes. "Elizabeth, we are all family now," she said patently, as if talking to child, "it's important we discuss problems together and try and come to a solution."

Her daughter frowned, unconvinced. "You mean you're intrigued to know why they don't talk."

"Honestly, Elizabeth!" Her mother had to good grace to look offended. "Sometimes I wonder if you know me at all." She shook her head and before Elizabeth knew it, she'd quickly brushed past her daughter and made her way over to the two men.

Elizabeth sighed before following. "Oh yeah, I don't know you at all." She muttered to herself, sarcastically.

"Mrs Weir, what a pleasure to meet you again." David smiled and shook Margaret's hands, before turning to an approaching Elizabeth. "And Elizabeth, it's nice to see you; I've got to admit that's one good-looking house!" He grinned in a way only a Sheppard man could.

Elizabeth smiled graciously back, quickly taking note of John's nervous posture. "Oh, you think? Thanks, John and I fell in love with it right away, didn't we?" She invited John to the conversation, but he merely nodded slightly. "How are you finding the hotel?"

David nodded. "Good, good...very classy, great view from my room as well." He smiled, awkwardly; Elizabeth couldn't decide which brother was more nervous.

She smiled again, trying to put him at ease. "Is this your first time in D.C?"

"Aah no, actually..." David smiled timidly at his brother, "the first and last time I came to D.C was a few years back, I was on my way to New York and John was half way through college and they figured it would be easiest to meet up here and that way we could also check out our country's capital at the same time."

"They?" Elizabeth inquired.

David's eyes widened, as did John's slightly, unsure if he had stepped his foot in it. "Oh..." he cleared his throat uneasily, "...um...John and Nancy."

Margaret smiled. "Nancy?" She asked for clarification.

"Well..er..." David scratched the back of his neck, nervously; his similarities to John were not lost on either Elizabeth or her mother.

"Probably just an ex-girlfriend, mum." Elizabeth smiled, eager to move on from that subject, but, due to John's personal military files, knowing full well who Nancy was.

John looked taken aback. "What? No, Elizabeth...my _ex-wife_, I thought you knew-"

"_I_ do, yes." She said through gritted teeth, nodding pointedly at her mother and silently urging him to shut up.

A moment's silence. "..._excuse me_?" Margaret Weir said in a quiet, but deadly, tone.

"Mum, try to understand that-"

"You are _married_?" Margaret shook her head, horrified.

"No, no, I _was_ married, but I'm not anymore." John tried to reassure her.

"_Not in the eyes of God_!" She shouted at him, as if that fact was completely obvious.

"_Mother_, this is the 21st Century, sometimes marriages don't work out and divorce is necessary-"

"So, you would happily divorce John?" Her mother asked mockingly, her arms folded over her chest.

Elizabeth raised an eyebrow in annoyance. "I don't think anybody _happily_ divorces, mum, and why are you even asking me? I still think it's a socially-constructed institution designed to enforce people's subservience to religion, to promote the dominance of men over women and to curb our sexual freedoms."

"SO WHY ARE YOU GETTING MARRIED?" Her mother nearly shrieked.

Elizabeth groaned, aggravated. "Because I love John!" Gesturing at John, who smiled uncomfortably and waved his hand at Margaret in their recognition of him. "And I want to spend the rest of my life with him! What can I say? I'm throwing caution to the wind and embracing the status quo. And a ring on my finger is not going to change who I am or he is or our relationship; all it means is that he can call me his wife, I can call him my husband and you can happily call our child _legitimate_, whatever the hell that means-"

"Don't say 'hell'!"

"_Mum_!"

"We're gonna go." John interrupted, his thumb pointing back towards his brother's car. "Dave will drop me back at the house, we'll see you later." Elizabeth almost smiled; somehow it seemed an argument between herself and her mother had prevented any chance of an argument between John and his brother and, what's more, encouraged the two men to escape together. _Hopefully, whilst they're escaping, they can sort out their problems_, Elizabeth thought wryly.

"Elizabeth, this is not acceptable, what am I going to tell Father Jacob?" Margaret asked her daughter, desperately.

"That he is a hypocrite if he doesn't marry us! He can't pick and choose which principles to uphold! _Look_ at me, mother, I am fit to burst! It couldn't be more obvious that John and I have been indulging in activities, which Father Jacob would only deem appropriate when considered 'conjugal relations',...pre-conjugally. So if he can marry the heavily pregnant bride," she gestured towards her belly in vexation, "he can deal with the divorcé groom."

"Pre-conjugally is not a word." Margaret raised an eyebrow, her arms still folded. "And if John thinks I'm going to let this one go then..." Margaret finally realised the men had left, as she saw David's car drive past out of the corner of her eye. She turned back to Elizabeth, flabbergasted. "They've gone!"

"Lucky them!"

* * *

"Wow, that's one hell of a mother-in-law you're getting there!" David commented as the pair collapsed on to a couple of bar stools. After driving around in uncomfortable silence for ten minutes, John spotted a bar, _The Watering Hole_, which looked eerily like the bar that he and his brother used to relax in when they came home from college and hoped that they would find it easier to talk in a more comfortable setting...or when drunk.

John nodded reluctantly, taking his wallet out of his back pocket. "Yep."

"Worth it, though. You're getting one hell of a wife, too." His tone belied the fact that David thought this notion was far more agreeable.

John lifted his eyes to his brother at looked at him seriously. "Definitely."

David smiled gently. "Not your usual type, though."

"What? I don't have a type." John defended.

His brother broke out in a grin. "Oh yes, you do."

"No, I don't." John signalled to the barman for two beers.

"Yeah, you really do."

"I dated Carla Rosenberg and Jessica Wright in the same month in high school and, if I remember correctly, they were completely different." John raised an eyebrow, daring his brother to contradict.

David looked unimpressed. "If by different, you mean one was a blonde and the other a brunette, then yeah, they were different, but as in _who_ they were...they were your type."

"Which is?" John sighed in defeat.

"Clingy, but sweet-natured; determined to please you, but at the same time wanting to change the less desirous aspects of your nature, caring, cheerful, loyal, affectionate and fun-loving-"

"You sound like you're trying to sell a puppy."

David pointedly ignored him. "You date girls who are intrigued by how complicated you are and want to know more, uncover the rest. You date girls who like commitment and want you to commit. You date who just want a normal life and want to spend it with you."

John smiled ironically, images of the last few years came into his mind, of Atlantis, of life-sucking aliens and different planets, of new discoveries and of intergalatical spaceships; not exactly normal, but he wouldn't have changed any of it for a moment.

David accepted his beer from the barman and shook his head in puzzlement. "Nancy was the epitome of your type, I thought you were one lucky guy who I didn't think deserved a girl who only wanted to be with you whilst you were always..._adrift_... when you two divorced, I thought that-"

"It was my fault." John nodded decidedly and in agreement, playing with the bottle cap on the table.

"Yeah, it was and, ever since, I've always thought you were a moron who let the best thing that ever happened to you get away." John turned to meet his brother's steady gaze. "Then I met Elizabeth and I've realised I was wrong."

John nodded again, slowly, still looking at his brother. "Thank you." John smiled, and took a sip from his beer. "So, she's not my type, huh?"

"God no!" David grinned, realising a breath he didn't realise he'd been holding. "When you went off yesterday, she and I got to talking and she's...well, frankly she's amazing, charming with a wickedly dry sense of humour. I was looking at all the photos on the wall and she's travelled...everywhere! She's met Nelson Mandela, you know, and about five different U.S. Presidents! You realise she's broken all these important treaties and stuff and she just shrugs as if it's nothing special ."

John smiled softly. "That's Elizabeth, modest, all the time."

David shook his head in amazement. "And she's smart! I mean_, really_ smart, I took a look at her diplomas and she's spent time at Princeton, Harvard _and_ Cambridge..." He shook his head again in disbelief.

"Did Mrs Weir know that you were snooping around her house?" John asked casually.

His brother shrugged. "Elizabeth and her mother spent a good hour arguing after you left yesterday, I had to kill the time somehow."

John sighed, not particularly unhappily. "Well, I'm glad you think she's amazing."

"Yeah and she loves you." David said matter-of-factly, before he sipped his beer.

John couldn't help but smile. "I know."

"And she knows that you're complicated and sometimes secretive, but she doesn't want to uncover that, she loves you and knows you'll tell her when you're ready. That's a rare thing, John."

"_That's a rare thing?_ What, are you a marriage counsellor now?" John snapped; David looked at him pointedly. John sighed and nodded pensively. "I know, I know. _She's_ a rare thing, one of a kind...sometimes I'm scared I'm going to fuck it up."

"It's a possibility." David titled his head in acknowledgement.

"Geez, thanks." John said dryly.

"And it helps, you know...that she's kind of adrift too. A real idealist, she's got her head in the stars, like you, whilst the rest of us like to keep our feet firmly on the ground." David nudged John, in a joking rebuke.

"You have no idea how really true that is." John sighed, his thoughts lingering on Atlantis once more.

The two men descended into silence as they drunk their beers; a more comfortable silence then they had probably enjoyed in years. John looked at his brother, unsure of what or how much to say, wishing that Elizabeth was there to tell him what to do, or at least offer some moral support; their previous conversation came into his mind. _"You don't understand." "How can I if you don't bother to explain it to me?"_

Downing the rest of his beer for courage, John turned to face his brother front-on. "I didn't want to be part of the business, at any point, but I was the oldest and I knew that dad expected me to take charge."

David blinked, completely taken aback by John's direct approach; he placed his beer on the counter, recognising he needed to give John his full attention. "Okay."

"Okay." John swallowed nervously, but continued. "He is bossy, demanding, rude, sometimes even cruel and the most stubborn man I've ever met. In some ways, you probably take more after mum, you're willing to compromise with him, allow him to have his way to keep the peace, but I'm the second most stubborn man I've ever met, so I can't do that. I hated him after he drove mum to leave. I hated him even more when mum died and I didn't get a proper chance to say goodbye because I was off in New York doing a business course to be part of a business that I had no interest in, a business which seemed to mean more to him than anything else, or anyone else, in the world. So...I made a choice, I took the tests to join the Air Force, got into the academy and never looked back." John nodded, swallowed again in discomfort and asked the barman for another couple of beers.

David looked at his brother, sympathetically, silently thanking Elizabeth Weir for whatever she did to make John Sheppard willing to even tell him this much. "Thank you for being honest with me...but John, I don't need you to tell me that you never looked back. Because, if you had, you would have seen that you had left me there, alone, to deal with a broken and confused father and the business. I don't always like him, but I force myself to swallow my pride because I know he doesn't make allowances. I didn't want to be in the family business either, but once you left, I couldn't fuck off because it would have killed him. I know I wasn't supportive, that I didn't try and understand you and I just stood there when dad shouted abuse at you day in and day out and I'm...well, I'm sorry, but you didn't just alter your own life by walking out, you altered mine as well."

John's eyebrows rose, a new sense of understanding washing over him. "I'm sorry, I...I honestly, I guess I didn't...I was too selfish to think about it that way, I was just so angry, I _am_ so angry at him and everything that happened." David shrugged in dismissal, nothing could change what had transpired, what's done is done, but John realised, whilst his brother had probably let go of that emotional baggage a long time ago, John, like his father, had just allowed the resentment to run wild. "Do you want to come to the wedding?" John asked, the abrupt question surprisingly both himself and his brother.

David smiled slowly, unsurely. "Well, I...really?"

John nodded, resolutely; unwillingly to speak in case his fear of moving forward urged him to take the offer back.

David's smile blossomed into a grin. "Sure, I'd love to."

TBC...

PLEASE REVIEW! I LOVE REVIEWS!


	17. Chapter 17

Enjoy! Review!

**Chapter 17:**

"You have got to be kidding me..." Laura muttered under her breath, as a waiter showed her a plate of food.

"What are they?" Teyla questioned.

"Cucumber sandwiches cut into tiny little triangles." Laura said, almost horrified.

Telya raised a questioning eyebrow. "Cucumber?"

Laura shook her head gently. "This is supposed to be a bachelorette party?"

Katie elbowed her friend and whispered. "Sssh...this is nice, I like it."

Laura rolled her eyes. "You're dating Rodney, your opinion has been null and void for a while now." She whispered back.

Katie narrowed her eyes. "You little-"

"Hey, you two, you having fun?" Elizabeth said to them from behind, causing them to turn and see a very forced grin on her face.

Laura smirked. "Hold on Elizabeth, I think Miss Katie Brown was just about to utter her first curse word."

"This is wonderful, your mother did a beautiful job." Katie smiled at Elizabeth, pointedly ignoring Laura's previous remark.

"Yeah, you think?" Elizabeth nodded, forcing another smile to her face. The wedding was in two days and Elizabeth's mother wanted to give her daughter a little pre-celebration with the help of her bridesmaids: a bachelorette party. Unfortunately, within half an hour of speaking to Margaret, Laura, followed soon after by Katie and Teyla had thrown in the towel and suggested Margaret organise the party herself. Left to her own devices, Margaret had soon created an event which was less bachelorette and more 'ladies who lunch' combined with civilised baby shower: heaven for Margaret and hell for Elizabeth.

"_Oh yeah_," Laura also forced a smile on to her face. "I think the swans in the backyard make a nice touch."

Elizabeth raised an eyebrow. "Cut the crap, Laura, I think this is the most ridiculous party my mother has ever thrown...ever! Most of the guests are pregnant women who I don't think I have ever met before, most of the food is cut in the shape of a baby-"

"Apart from the cucumber sandwiches." Teyla pointed out.

"_and_..." she carried on, "...there's a jazz band who, despite my many protests, insists of playing all the songs used by Richard Simmons in 'Sweatin' to the Oldies'."

Laura grinned. "A classic."

Elizabeth sighed. "This is not my idea of fun...and they were storks."

Katie nibbled on her cucumber sandwich. "What were?"

Elizabeth sighed impatiently. "In the backyard, they're storks, not swans."

"Well, forgive me for the confusion," Laura said sarcastically, "I was just a little distracted by the fact that the birds were wearing diapers."

Katie choked a little on her sandwich. "The birds are wearing diapers?"

"Come on Elizabeth, it's time to go, or jump ship! I feel 'jump ship' conveys better how I feel at this moment." Laura nodded towards the door. "The party's winding down, people are already saying goodbye to your mum...let's go!"

Elizabeth smiled a little at Laura's enthusiasm to leave. "Go where?"

"To your second party." Teyla smiled. "Your mother was...gracious enough to allow us to have another party for you. She...kindly suggested it after we all agreed...amicably, that perhaps trying to plan a party together was not entirely possible."

Elizabeth laid a hand on Teyla's arm, sympathetically. "I have never once felt that you have had to force a diplomatic response...until this moment." Teyla narrowed her eyes. "So, a second party?"

Katie nodded happily. "A second party and, don't worry, we vetoed some of Laura's more extreme ideas."

"Hey! I'm standing right here! And my suggestion that we should have strippers was not an extreme idea, it's what every bachelorette party should be about! John's having them!" Laura justified.

Both of Elizabeth's eyebrows rose towards her hairline. "There are going to strippers at John's bachelor party?"

Katie shrugged, kindly. "It _is_ a bachelor party."

Elizabeth nodded slowly. "Mmm, yeah...you're right, you're right, strippers are just the status quo."

Katie smiled. "Exactly! It's fine!"

"Yeah." Elizabeth nodded again, trying to convince herself. "He's going to have women fawning all over him in no clothing who, unlike me, are not reaching whale proportions and I'm going to be?" She let that bitter question hang in the air.

"In your current mood, I would suggest getting drunk, but I think your mum would hate me for life if I brought her pregnant daughter home completely wasted." Laura said dryly.

Teyla raised a patent eyebrow at Laura. "Which is why we are going to something called a spa."

Elizabeth smiled, impressed. "A spa? Fancy!"

"And then we have reservations at a restaurant." Katie grinned.

"What kind of restaurant?" Elizabeth said suspiciously. "Do I need to dress nice? Because I don't have-"

"Steve's Steak Diner!" Laura smiled evilly.

"Yes!" Elizabeth nearly punched the air. "Now _that_ is what I'm talking about it."

"Okay, good, now go say bye to your mum, we'll meet you outside." Laura said impatiently.

Katie frowned. "Shouldn't we invite her mother to come with us?"

"_What?_" Elizabeth and Laura said in unison.

"I don't like how our last conversation went, there was some definite...rudeness." Katie said, looking pointedly at Laura.

"I agree." Teyla said, also pointedly looking at Laura. "We should extend a hand of friendship."

"Can't you extend a hand some other time?" Elizabeth half-whined. "I want to eat steak and if she comes, I will be denied."

Teyla sighed unhappily, looking again at Laura. "Hey!" Laura raised her hands in defence. "If the lady wants steak, I'm not going tell her no...Elizabeth's got fifty pounds on me."

Elizabeth's jaw dropped. "Excuse me!" Laura shrugged, unapologetic. "_Fifty pounds?_ You little-"

"Elizabeth." Margaret interrupted, her eyes briefly resting on Elizabeth's friends with obvious disdain. "Aren't you leaving? I thought your...friends had some sort of evening planned."

"Oh, they do." Elizabeth smiled at her mother. Katie cleared her throat; Elizabeth nearly rolled her eyes. "Do you want to join us?" She asked, through gritted teeth.

Margaret's look of annoyance changed to one of surprise for a moment. "Er, no...no, thank you. I don't think it would be to my taste."

"There aren't going to be any strippers." Elizabeth read her mother's thoughts.

Margaret raised her eyebrows in surprise at that revelation as well, before cooling her expression. "I suppose dear Laura was overruled by the others."

Laura opened her mouth to respond in indignation, but Elizabeth interrupted. "No, no! It was Laura's idea to forgo on the stripping, wasn't it Laura?"

Laura nodded solemnly, before smirking. "Yes, I didn't want Elizabeth getting overexcited in case her waters' broke."

"Okay, then!" Elizabeth said, stopping now her mother from having her say. "I'll see you three outside!"

"Are you sure you don't want to join us, Mrs. Weir?" Teyla asked politely.

"No, no...I have plans." Margaret gave Teyla a polite smile; Elizabeth's eyes widened at the mention of plans.

"Okay, good good! Lovely party, Mrs Weir!" Laura said happily, winking at Elizabeth before she left. Katie and Teyla also extended their more genuine thanks to Margaret before following Laura out.

Margaret raised the classic Weir eyebrow as she watched their retreating backs. "Teyla didn't know what a _diaper_ is...isn't that strange? Where does she come from again?"

"Somewhere hot. Her English isn't great." Elizabeth said in impatience, waving her hand over the subject. "_Plans_? What plans? You never have plans."

Margaret sighed, annoyed. "Oh don't be so ridiculous Elizabeth, I do have a life."

"That's not what I meant, it's just that-"

"Of course, that's what you meant...if you must know, I have a date." Margaret said simply.

Elizabeth blinked. "_With a man_?"

Margaret looked at daughter, offended. "Yes, with a man! Honestly, Elizabeth, you do say the most stupid-"

"Sorry, yes, with a man, of course, I just meant..." Elizabeth sighed, unable to find the words, before a moment of realisation hit her. "It's Hank Landry, isn't it?"

Margaret brushed something invisible of her skirt. "I really don't think it's any of your bus-"

"Mum!"

"Okay, fine! Hanky and I have a date." Margaret said, her eyes daring her daughter to say something.

Elizabeth blinked again. A moment's silence. "_HANKY?_"

"Keep your voice down!"

"When were you going to tell me about this?" Elizabeth demanded, still trying to process the idea of her mother going on a date.

"At some point, I suppose." Margaret almost shrugged.

"Well, are you planning to pursue a relationship with this man?" Elizabeth questioned, folding her arms over her chest.

"It's the first date!"

"You do realise that he lives in Colorado? A relationship would be long-distance, so do you know whether he is willing to commit to a long-distance relationship or is he just hoping for...?" Elizabeth wiggled her eyebrows to convey her meaning.

"Elizabeth!" Margaret said, affronted. Her daughter sighed, unhappily and looked at her mother hard. Margaret was on the verge of rolling her eyes. "What is the problem?" She asked, her nerves starting to fray.

Elizabeth lowered her voice. "You will use a condom, won't you?" Margaret's jaw hit the floor. "Because whilst I realise that the ship which could get you into my current situation has long since sailed, sexually transmitted diseases are a growing epidemic in this country and-"

"Elizabeth Anne Weir..." Margaret said, quietly but deadly, when she finally found her voice. "Your opinions are not required. Your dating history reads very poorly, from Billy Chadwick who had a brain full of sawdust and a horrible haircut to that Frenchman who drove that ugly Renault Fuego! You have at least dated two men who cheated on you, a guy who worked in TGI Friday's, a Republican journalist twice your age and a lawyer with a prosthetic leg! Not to mention the dullest man I have ever met in my life, Simon Graham Wallace! When I want dating advice, I will not be asking _you_! " She looked at her daughter defiantly before storming out of the room, leaving Elizabeth alone in the parlour.

Silence. Elizabeth frowned, indignant. "_Renault Fuego_? He drove a Ford!"

TBC...

Hope you liked! Review! Also, if I am making loads of slip ups using American slang you have to tell me, I already had to go through this and change loads (e.g. swear word to curse word, stag do to bachelor party, plastered to wasted etc) Anyway, hope you enjoyed! Next up, John's bachelor party!


	18. Chapter 18

Enjoy! Review!

**Chapter 18**

"Well, that's nearly two hours of my life I'll never get back." John sighed, throwing the keys on to the coffee table and collapsing into the sofa.

"Don't blame me! The movie's title was very misleading!" Rodney vehemently defended himself, as he, Carson, Ronan and John's brother, Dave, all followed John into the living room. "Urrgh...I need to wash my hands..." Rodney muttered angrily, wiping his hands on his trousers and making his way into the kitchen, "...everything in public toilets is untouchable..."

"Get the beers!" John called out to him.

"It was called '_Girls in Trouble'_. There were girls and they were in trouble. I don't see the problem." Ronan asked, confused before lying down on the sofa opposite John. Dave and Carson also followed suit by getting comfortable in a couple of armchairs.

"How can you not see the problem?" John asked, completely bemused. "The movie sucked!"

"Don't blame me!" Rodney repeated, impatiently as he walked back in the room shoving a six-pack can of beers at John. "I thought it'd be porn!"

"It was a _chick flick_, Rodney!" John said the words in disgust. "Worse than that, it was a teenage chick flick! The _girls_ were fourteen year olds and their _trouble_ was that they had all skipped out on school in order to watch some boy band play in New York! A whole two hours of it! And I'm never getting those hours back!" He finished, petulantly.

Rodney rolled his eyes, took the can John offered and sat down next to him. All the men took a moment to digest what they had just been through and sipped their beers.

"Wait a moment, you thought it was going to be a porn film?" Carson inquired, confused.

"Yes, Carson," Rodney said, eager to move off the subject, "I was mistaken, alright?"

Carson shook his head sharply. "No, actually, Rodney it isn't alright, your plan for John's bachelor night was watching porn together?"

"Not just together, but at the movies." Dave said, happily chiming in. "Because when I watch porn, I like to do it in public." He smiled sarcastically. John looked Rodney up and down, shaking his head in disappointment.

"And?" Rodney asked, defensively, looking at everyone around the room. "It's the movies, it's dark, what's the problem?"

"_It's dark_? Is that the justification you use so you can jerk off when you go to the movies for porn?" John inquired casually, drinking from his beer again.

Rodney's mouth dropped open, affronted. Then closed, then opened again. "I didn't plan on jerking off, no!"

"Of course you didn't, lad," Carson offered sympathetically. "No man usually does, it's one of those 'of the moment' kind of activities." Rodney narrowed his eyes at him; Ronan smirked.

John sighed. "Well, I don't think the moment would have taken Rodney watching _that_ movie...that was the worst thing I have ever seen..." he groaned, reliving the experience.

"I thought it was porn!" Rodney repeated himself, crossly.

"Did the twelve year old girls standing in line with us for tickets give you any indication that perhaps it wasn't porn?" Carson smiled innocently at Rodney.

John shook his head again and tutted. "He can build a nuclear reactor but he can't even-"

"OKAY! I get it! I stuffed up! We just spent two hours watching the worst movie of all time-"

"Two hours that we'll never get back." John interrupted.

"-and so making this the worst bachelor party of all time!" Rodney carried on. "I'm sorry!" He finished, looking at each of them, daring them to say something more on the subject.

"Mind you..." Dave ventured, smirking at John "...in a choice between watching some crappy chick flick and seating next to you friend" he gestured towards Rodney, "in the dark whilst he jacks off, I think I'd pick the movie...every single time."

* * *

"So," John lazily inquired, glancing at Ronan as he lifted himself up slightly, "what do you do on your..." he briefly looked at his brother, "...I mean, in your country before you get married?" The men had just spent the last couple of hours watching the sports highlights on television in boredom, steadily making their way through cans of beer and Doritos.

Ronan shrugged, not moving his eyes from the television screen. "The night before the ceremony, the man along with three other male family members hunt in the woods and are not allowed to return until they've made a kill. He writes the name of his betrothed with the blood of the kill on the steps to the Stargate and prays to the Ancestors for a good marriage with lots of children."

John blinked. "Oh."

Dave frowned, crunching on a dorito. "Where did you say you came from again?"

Ronan glowered at him; Dave recoiled. "I didn't."

"Cuba." John intervened, glaring at a now sniggering Carson . "He's from Cuba."

"There's someone at the door." Rodney announced, his mouth full, as he carried a plate of chocolate cake from the kitchen.

"You're eating another one of Mrs Weir's cakes? She's gonna kill me, you...selfish, fat pig!" John groaned as he stood up, surprised at how quickly the alcohol had gone to his head.

"Hey!" Rodney whined, placing the cake on the coffee table and stealing John's now vacant seat. "She shouldn't leave it around if she doesn't want anybody to eat it and I'm NOT FAT!"

"Whoa! Easy there, big fellow!" John clapping Rodney on the shoulder. "I didn't mean to touch a nerve-"

"You did not touch-" Rodney started.

"He's in a delicate way, lad." Carson smiled sleepily as he slightly slurred his words. "The man's gained fifteen pounds." Seeing Rodney's eyes widen in horror, Carson shrugged, unapologetic. "What? You have! Last standard medical check you weighed in at-"

"Do not finish that sentence!" Rodney said warningly.

Ronan sniffed, bored. "You got cake on your face, McKay."

John peered down unsteadily at Rodney. "Yeah, and on your forehead of all places...couldn't you be assed to use a knife and fork? Did you just put your whole face in there?"

Dave grinned. "Mmm...like the fat boy in Matilda, what's he called again?"

"Bruce." Ronan answered, without pause for thought.

Dave jerked a thumb at Ronan and looked at John questioningly, John shrugged. "It's his favourite movie." He bent down to wipe the chocolate from Rodney's forehead, but McKay batted his hand away, thoroughly insulted at by compared to fat boy Bruce.

"Would you just answer the door?" He whined again, before folding his arms across his chest and pouting.

John rolled his eyes and went to open the door. Dave turned to Ronan once more, trying to be friendly. "So what line of work are in?"

Ronan shrugged. "I kill things." He then stuck his hand in the chocolate cake and took a handful of it. Carson spluttered with laughter whilst Dave and Rodney both looked extremely perturbed; Dave, of course, had never seen someone just take a handful of a cake before like it was a bowl of chips and Rodney, of course, was absolutely horrified that Ronan was eating some of his cake.

"Okay!" John said angrily, followed by a police officer. "Rodney, you are dead to me!"

Rodney slowly drew his gaze from Ronan devouring his cake to look at John; he frowned as he saw the police officer beside him. "Why? Why is there a cop here?"

"Officer Mike Hanley is here because of something to do with the car. I told you that you ran about twelve red lights!" He pointed at McKay accusingly. "But oh no! You were all "it's fine, nobody cares, it's the suburbs,"! That is Mrs Weir's car if anything happens to that thing-"

Dave smiled comfortingly. "John, don't worry." He said, trying to placate him. "She's your mother-in-law, a little fear is good but too much and you are going to go nuts."

Rodney scoffed. "_Going to go_ nuts?

"Oi! Shut it, fat ass!" John pointed at him again.

"Fifteen pounds does not a fat ass make!" Rodney said, defiantly.

"It's alright boys," Officer Hanley said to calm them down, flashing them a smile; Ronan raised an eyebrow at being called a 'boy'. "I'm actually here about different matter."

They all looked at each other for a moment, confused. Carson, suddenly shaken out of his drunken haze, sat up slightly, nervously. "Er...lads, why has that police officer got a CD player?"

* * *

Elizabeth opened the front door quietly; it was late and she didn't want to wake her mother up. This evening had been amazing. An amazing massage followed by an amazing steak followed by hours of giggling at an amazing pub made Elizabeth Weir one happy woman. The company hadn't been half bad either, Elizabeth was dreading the day when everybody's period of leave came to an end and they all went back home, to Atlantis. Having Laura, Katie and Teyla so close by for even a little while had allowed Elizabeth to forget how different her new life would be. It would be wonderful, of course, she smiled wistfully, rubbing her belly as she closed the door behind her, but different and even difficult. _One day_, she thought positively, _we'll be there again, we will go back to Atlantis._

Turning around, she frowned as she saw John slumped on the sofa, gently snoring. She had assumed he would be partying long into the night and was surprised to see him home and asleep before she was. Creeping gently across the wooden floors, Elizabeth sank herself next to John and carefully brushed his hair away from his forehead, lovingly. His military instincts ingrained in him, his eyes fluttered upon and a grin came onto his face as he saw the reason for his disturbance. Yawning, he sat up and kissed Elizabeth soundly on the lips. "How long have you been back?"

She shook her head slightly. "Not long, only just got here really. How about you? How was your evening?"

His gaze unfocused, John nodded only slightly. "Unforgettable."

Elizabeth grinned happily, snuggling up to him. "Well, I'm glad you had a good time too."

John put an arm around her shoulders to make her more comfortable and smiled back at wryly. "Good? No. Unforgettable? Definitely."

She frowned, and lifted her head up to look at him properly. "Why? What happened?"

He sighed. "Well, we went to the movies-"

"Interesting." She nodded, surprised at the choice of activity.

"-and saw _Girls in Trouble_."

Elizabeth's eyes lit up in recognition. "Oh I heard about that! Mrs Campbell's daughter Sally, who I used to babysit from time to time, went to see that, she said it was about..." She trailed off, and raised an eyebrow. "Why did you go see _that_ movie? It's target audience is twelve to fifteen year old girls...should I be concerned you went to see this?"

John nodded in agreement. "Yes, you should be concerned. I'm _still_ concerned or, more accurately, emotionally scarred."

She smirked. "It was that good, huh?"

"Worst movie ever."

"Ronan like it?" She inquired, reaching forward to take a few Doritos from the bowl on the coffee table.

"Hell yeah, Chewie loved every moment _and _he ate all my popcorn." He pouted slightly.

"Doesn't surprise me." She crunched on a chip. "Last movie night on Atlantis, he had the deciding vote...we watched _Pretty Woman-_"

"Instead of _Die Hard_! I know! The guy is crazy!" He sighed unhappily before tiredly pinching the bridge of his nose.

Elizabeth titled her head, still looking at him. She frowned. "Did you not have fun tonight?"

"Well, it depends on your definition of fun." He said, downing the last of his beer.

"No bars?" She asked; he shook his head. "No clubs?" He scoffed. "No...strippers?" He groaned. "What does that mean? Were there strippers or weren't there?" She asked, trying to sound indifferent.

"Oh, there was a stripper." His gaze unfocused again. When he didn't say anything else, Elizabeth waved a hand over his face. "What?"

She smiled, bemused. "Well, how was it? Did you do the whole 'dollar bills in the panties' thing or did you just watch from a safe distance?" She grinned. "What was her name? Candy? Missy?-"

"Mike." He said simply. "His name was Mike." Elizabeth's eye widened; she bit her lip to stop herself laughing. John turned to look at her. "It's not funny, Elizabeth!" He said petulantly; she burst into laughter. "I had to watch a man take off all his clothes whilst dancing to _Sexy Thing_!"

"Good song..." She grinned; he looked outraged by her lack of sympathy. "Uh honey, it's okay, these things happen. So, Rodney accidently booked a guy stripper instead of a girl?" She asked knowingly.

He nodded sadly. "Apparently the description was just 'Officer Hanley, fighting crime one strip at a time' and he assumed it was a girl, but he's an idiot!"

"_Officer Hanley_?" She coughed to stop herself from sniggering.

He carried on. "I mean, the company was called _Cocks Anonymous_, surely it is _obvious _that girls don't work there...Elizabeth!" He berated his fiancée as she struggled to breathe. "Stop it! That man tried to straddle me!"

"Don't..." She laughed, her hands on her belly, "...stop, I'm gonna wet myself..."

"Well, I'm glad my pain causes you pleasure." He couldn't help but smile as he watched her laugh harder than ever before.

"Why..." She wiped tears from her eyes. "Why didn't you ask him to leave?"

John shrugged desperately. "I don't know! I was so embarrassed, I couldn't find the words! We were all shocked into silence! He did his...thing and then, eventually, left."

She smiled, grabbing another handful of Doritos. "Eventually?"

John smirked. "He wanted Rodney's number." She threw her head back in laughter and, as quickly as she could, got up. "Where are you going?"

"I can't..." She said laughing, hopping from one foot to the other. "...I'm gonna...I'm gonna pee my pants..." She waddled out the room as quickly as possible.

"At least you can get to the toilet in time, Carson wasn't so lucky!" He called out after her, before switching the T.V back on. "Poor guy, wet himself out of fear," he muttered, "as soon as the man's jock strap came off."

TBC...

So, that was my tongue in cheek chapter with no real story development, but I hope you liked it and please review!


	19. Chapter 19

Okay so sooooo sorry that it has taken this long to post a new chapter, but I've been away for weeks without my beloved computer and then work at uni piled up bloody higher than expected but please enjoy and review!

**Chapter 19:**

"Good morning sweetheart, it's time to get up..." Margaret brushed the hair from her sleeping daughter's forehead, smiling. "You're getting married today."

Elizabeth's eyes flew open. For years, she had nightmares of this exact moment; her mother waking her up to say she was getting married. Putting on the dress was like putting on a strait-jacket; walking down the aisle was like walking to the scaffold. The man at the altar never had a face she could remember, just some 'perfect guy'. She always used to wake up shaking before she got to _I do_. Elizabeth smiled sleepily at her mother, rubbing her eyes. She wasn't dreaming anyone, this was real and instead of wanting to do her best impression of Julia Roberts in _Runaway Bride_, she felt a sense of familiar calm. The kind of calm she felt when she was blissfully happy.

"Tea, Elizabeth?" Her mother asked, unable to stop smiling; her joy plain to see. "I hope you're not too tired darling because today is going to be a long day."

"No, no..." Elizabeth replied, finding it hard to not roll her eyes at Margaret's beaming face, "actually, I feel really good, full of energy in fact."

"Well, _good_!" Margaret clapped her hands together enthusiastically.

Her daughter raised an eyebrow. "Did you just...squeal?"

"I'm going to go downstairs and bring up some tea and breakfast," her mother said ignoring her, suddenly her usual authoritative self, "because it's vital to keep those energy levels high-

Elizabeth nodded obediently, albeit slightly mockingly. "Right. Vital."

"-and I'll send the ladies upstairs to help you get ready and the-"

"_Ladies_? What ladies?" Elizabeth frowned, confused.

"Yours bridesmaids, of course." Margaret sighed, impatient at being interrupted.

Elizabeth snorted. "Don't let Laura hear you calling her a _lady_," she muttered.

Her mother looked up at the ceiling, her joy quickly giving way to annoyance. "And the hairdresser and make-up artist will be here in an hour to make you look..." She trailed off, waving her hand in her daughter's direction.

Elizabeth narrowed her eyes. "To make me look _what_, mum?"

"Oh, no!" Margaret shook her head as she helped pull her heavily pregnant daughter up from the bed. "I'm not falling into that trap!"

Elizabeth grinned cheekily. "To make me look younger?..." She asked teasingly. "Prettier?...Or just generally better?"

Her mother cupped her cheek affectionately. "To enhance your natural beauty." Elizabeth tilted her head, gratefully, before Margaret gave her a playful tap on the cheek. "...and all of the above."

"Hey!" Elizabeth protested petulantly as her mother made her quick getaway. "Even though it's true, you're still not supposed to say it!" She called out to her.

* * *

"Big guy, why are you in a blue tuxe?" John asked with irritation, struggling to fix his tie as he looked back at Ronan in the mirror. "You were supposed to take him shopping, McKay!" He wrenched the tie of his neck in frustration and sat down angrily on the hotel bed. John had checked in the night before at Margaret's insistence that is was proper and traditional not to see the bride before the wedding, despite Elizabeth's protests that he'd seen everything before and had an eight-month old bump to prove it.

"He picked it out..." Rodney defended, distracted as he admired himself in his own tuxedo in the mirror. "Just be thankful he's not in his native dress...which I assume involves a loincloth made out of roadkill." Ronan growled but said nothing.

Dave snorted as he lay down on top of the bed. "A little harsh, don't you think? He's from Cuba, not another planet." All the other men shared a brief look at the irony of that statement.

"But seriously, why the blue?" John asked, still annoyed as he started to lace up his shoes. "I said, very clearly, black tuxedo."

Ronan looked down at what he was wearing, unfazed. He shrugged. "You're wearing blue...and besides, I look good." Rodney rolled his eyes. "Teyla said something about wearing something old, new, borrowed and blue. This is borrowed, blue and it's new to me."

"And the old, lad?" Carson asked cheerfully, as he put a flower in his button hole.

Ronan grinned. "I've got my favourite blade." He patted his trouser pocket affectionately.

Dave raised his eyebrows, shocked. "_Blade_? As in a knife?"

"That's for the bride, Ronan! All that blue, old, new crap is something the girl does for good luck! _We_ don't do that!_ I_ wear blue because I'm in the Air Force and these are my dress blues, but all of you should be in black!"

"Does anyone think my butt looks big in these-" Rodney started.

"And why the hell are you taking Teyla's advice anyway?" John demanded crossly. "She's Athosian! What is she gonna know about a wedding here?"

Dave raised an eyebrow. "Athosian?" He asked Carson quietly.

"It's a...province." He said, without pause for thought. "In Cuba."

"Really..." Dave breathed astonished and a little embarrassed by his lack of geographical knowledge; Carson nodded smiling. "And their weddings are very different to ours?"

Carson paused. "Well, I mean...she's Jewish."

"A Jewish Cuban?" Dave asked astonished again; Carson nodded smiling a little too hard once more. "Wow."

"Don't blame Teyla." Ronan said warningly to John, his protective streak flaring and his patience for John's continual foul mood waning. Rodney smirked approvingly, finally turning away from the mirror. "Blame Rodney."

McKay's jaw dropped. "Oh _what_? Why does everything always come back to me?" He took a step towards Ronan and pointed at him. "You're the one who insisted on the blue! I told you that Captain Kirk wanted black, but did you listen? No!" Ronan's nostrils flared angrily as he stood up straighter.

"Alright, let's just calm down." Dave said gently to Rodney and Ronan before looking at John pleadingly and whispering. "He has a knife." John rolled his eyes and fell back on to the bed in frustration.

* * *

"You look...breathtaking." Margaret smiled, her eyes shining at she looked at her daughter. Elizabeth had chosen a very tasteful wedding gown with an empire line letting the fabric drape over her baby bump, with the most beautiful bead detailing around the shoulders and bust. Not Vera Wang, but stunning all the same.

"...I look like Moby Dick." Elizabeth sighed, glancing in the mirror, resting her hand on her stomach.

Margaret's smile evaporated. "Must you ruin the moment, dear? Mmm? You look lovely. I know that we can't exactly hide your..._size_, but you're pregnant and getting married and we are all going to act as if that is acceptable-"

"It _is_ acceptable," her daughter contributed.

"- because evidently," She continued, gesturing at her daughter's belly, "there's no hiding the elephant in the room."

Laura smirked. "Now now, there's no need to call the bride names..."

Teyla intervened, smiling at Elizabeth. "You look wonderful; John will only have eyes for you, remember that." Elizabeth smiled back gratefully.

"You look like an angel..." Katie offered, sweetly.

Elizabeth tilted her head, looking into the mirror again, "...who swallowed another angel..."

Laura rolled her eyes. "You're about to explode, we can't do anything about that!...The sooner you shut up, the sooner we can get you down that aisle and lower the risk of you exchanging the rings whilst covered in amniotic fluid. So let's go!" Chucking Elizabeth her bouquet, to Mrs. Weir's annoyance.

Elizabeth blinked. "...eew."

* * *

"Stop fidgeting."

"I'm not fidg-"

"Yes. You are."

"No. I'm not!"

"YES! You-"

"Gentlemen!" Both John and Rodney snapped to attention. "You are in the house of the Lord...a little decorum, if you wouldn't mind?"

John swallowed. "Yeah...sorry, Father Jacob." And Rodney, even abashed, nodded in agreement and smiled apologetically.

"That was your fault!" John hissed after Father Jacob moved off to talk to some of the congregation.

"Well, if you would keep still and act your age instead of your shoe size, I wouldn't-"

"Oh very witty, Mckay!"

"Oi, lads!" Carson tapped John on the shoulder. "You're starting to getting looks..."

Rodney rolled his eyes at John's glare. "I don't know why you're all looking at me, if Sheppard wanted a mute best man, then he should have asked Conan the Barbarian to stand up with him!" Ronan growled from the front pew.

"...leave it out Mckay..." John glared once more, but then resolutely looked forward.

"What is wrong with you? You've been grumpy all morning! Are you scared she's not going to come? Because I'm sure she'll turn up...I think."

John's eyes widened in horror. "That hadn't even crossed my mind..."

McKay sniffed, bored. "Oh please, calm down, she loves you, she'll be here, you'll be husband and wife and then we'll have to work on getting you two back to Atlantis...you might even be able to bring the kid along-"

"I'm grumpy because I'm nervous." John said quietly, having not listened to Rodney's rambling. "I don't know how to be a husband and I really don't know how to be a father...and I really _really_ don't want to disappoint her because I love her Rodney...very much."

A sarcastic retort was on the tip of his tongue, but seeing the look on his best friend's face, Rodney paused for thought. "...you're a good man John, the rest will follow."

John smiled a little in thanks and was about to reply when the church doors opened. His heart leapt at just the thought of seeing Elizabeth, but then a elderly gentlemen nervously edged forward and sat down at one of the pews near the back. John's eyes darted to Dave, who could only shrug and smile. John looked back at the man and their eyes locked; the elder man smiled slightly and John nodded in return.

"Who's that?" Rodney staged whispered, breaking the moment.

John looked up at the arches of the cathedral. _God give me strength_. "My father, Mckay."

"...oh...well, he's late."

**TBC...**

Again, apologies for how tardy this chapter is! But thank you to everyone who has favourited it or reviewed!


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20 :**

"Elizabeth, would you make a decision already?" Margaret Weir demanded as the limousine pulled up to the church, tapping her daughter's hands away from nervously fiddling with her bouquet.

"About what?" Elizabeth asked, distracted, moving her hand to rub the pain in her back and the church all of a sudden looking a lot bigger than it had at the dress rehearsal.

"For pity's sake, I'm not going to ask again..." Her mother snapped.

"Well, you have no choice, because I don't know what you're talking about!" Elizabeth snapped back, on edge and irritated.

"Um, we'll just wait inside..." Katie softly trailed off, following Laura and Teyla's quick getaway, all unwilling to listen to mother and daughter's non-stop bickering.

"Whether Robert or Martin will be taking you down the aisle!" Margaret screeched, neither Weir taking note of the sudden lack in audience, before awkwardly scooting along the limousine seats to get out of the car.

Elizabeth groaned, frustrated. "Why are you yelling at me? You've been like this since we left the house," she complained, panting as she managed to get out of the car, "you're not still annoyed about the dress-"

"That damn dog of yours got hair and dirt all over of it and, I don't care what you say, you can still see it!"

"Why is it always Sedge's fault...", Elizabeth muttered, slamming the car door shut. "I know you, this is something else. You're _not_ still annoyed about the dress. So, what's the problem?"

"There's no problem!" Margaret shrugged, her tone suggesting the contrary, pulling the car door open and reaching in for Elizabeth's bouquet. "I just think you're being selfish, this isn't your day alone, you know, and it would be thoughtful of you to consider your family, but instead either Robert or Martin is going to be disappointed."

Elizabeth closed the car door again, softly this time and sighed, hurt not angry. "You think I'm selfish?...I doing this for you, mum."

"Getting married for me? Don't be ridiculous. When have you ever done anything I wanted?" She asked her daughter bitterly, fiddling with Elizabeth's bouquet.

"I'm getting married because I love John and I've realised that I _do_ want to be his wife, but this song and dance, the church, the guests, this circus! This is for _you_! I thought you wanted this more than anything." Elizabeth shrugged, out of ideas as to how to please her mother.

"And this is what you think of me? That I would want something so...so superficial as a big, white wedding with all the trimmings...God, you make me sound like my mother..." Margaret laughed humourlessly, her eyes widening in horror as her daughter appeared to shrug in agreement. "You little-"

"Well, if the shoe fits..." Elizabeth smiled guilty.

"How can you say such a thing?" She demanded dramatically, almost throwing the bouquet at her daughter.

"Er, guys, there's supposed to be a wedding..." Laura called out nervously from the church steps.

Elizabeth sighed. "Yeah, we'll be there in a min-"

"Honestly girl, go inside!" Margaret glared at Laura in frustration.

"_Honestly girl_?" Elizabeth barked out a laugh. "Oh my God, granny? Is that you?"

"Anyone ever tell you that sarcasm is the lowest form of wit?" Her mother replied, irritably.

"My, you just love rhetorical questions...another opportunity to listen to the sound of your own voice!" Elizabeth shouted, tiredly rubbing the pain in her back once more.

"Well, maybe if you were in the country once in a while or picked up the phone and called, I wouldn't have to be content with the sound of my own voice! You think that Sedgewick is a good conversationalist?"

"We're not reducing this to Sedge again, she's a dog, mum! She's not responsible for the fact that our relationship is strained. You know that my work makes contacting you difficult but perhaps I would make more of an effort if you weren't so...so domineering and-" Elizabeth sighed dejectedly, rubbing her back still in discomfort.

"-like my mother, you mean. Judith's like her, not me! Your grandmother was a self-righteous snob who only cared about what the neighbours thought and took the motto 'my way or the highway' very seriously indeed-"

"and you were the busy bee who loved to learn and travel and live life to the fullest...sound familiar?" Elizabeth smiled sadly. "What happened, mum? Where's the woman who taught me to care about what was right and not about what others thought? Who taught me to never judge a book by its cover? To realise that all we ever know is how ignorant we are?..._That's_ the woman who shaped me, who I grew up with and yet, somehow..." Elizabeth shrugged, trailing off.

"People, seriously, the guy running this show has got a funeral later!" Laura called again from the church's entrance.

Elizabeth sighed as she glanced at her silent mother. "Yeah, yeah, we're done...we're coming." She said softly, turning to walk up the church steps.

Margaret grabbed her daughter's hand; Elizabeth looked back questioningly. There was a long pause. "She's tired..." She cleared her throat nervously, "...and old, lonely...and more than a little bitter. I have lived out many dreams, the likes of which other women dreamt but never did anything about, I learned and travelled and lived life to the full. I built a home, a whole world, with your father and we had you, of course, and then he...uh, he went. And I wasn't ready. He wasn't supposed to go, we had more dreams to live out together...but c'est la vie. Your career goals, your dreams, took you away from here and I wasn't going to stop you," she shrugged, "so I was lonely...and had plenty of time to fill my calendar with all the cocktail parties and fundraisers I wanted, I had plenty of time to morph into my mother."

Elizabeth nodded slowly, perhaps seeing her mother truly for the first time. "Until John, I was lonely...all the time." One confession deserved another and her mother's smile signalled the confession was welcome. Elizabeth smiled back and breathed a deep sigh before continuing on more brightly "You've been angry, don't deny it-" Margaret grinned a little at her daughter's quick put-down, "-because dad isn't here to walk me down the aisle and because you think that I'm _not_ thinking about how he isn't here, but you're wrong. I always think about him, especially today, and you're wrong again because, even if he was here, I would want _both_ of my parents walking me down the aisle...I'm afraid uncle Robert _and _uncle Martin are going to be disappointed today. "

Margaret raised an eyebrow in a last wry act of defiance. "It's hardly traditional."

"Uh-huh. And what did a certain Mrs. Margaret Weir say to comfort her daughter after being confronted with a bunch of angry parents who were outraged that said Mrs. Weir's said daughter turned up to her Holy Communion in jeans and a Rolling Stones' t-shirt?" Elizabeth asked, grinning.

Margaret's mouth could only twitch in amusement at the memory. "Don't be scared of flipping tradition the bird," Elizabeth nodded resolutely in agreement.

"Mmm and the Stones rock...I think I'm ready to get married now." She smiled happily, kissing her mum's cheek affectionately.

"Okay sweetheart," she squeezed her daughter's hand tightly as they walked up the steps to the church's entrance.

"And by the way," Elizabeth smiled softly, smoothing down her dress, "morphing into your mother, in _some _ways, _might_ not be the _worst_ thing in the world." She relented, grinning.

"I'm glad you think so my dear, but I'd rather have you just as you are." Margaret grinned back. "And one more thing, when you move out..."

"...yeah?"

"...you're taking that dog with you."

* * *

"Wow."

"What?" John asked his best man, turning around to see what he was looking at. His question was answered immediately. Teyla, Laura and Katie, all looking lovely were nearing the end of the aisle and coming to stand at the side whilst Elizabeth trailed behind - arm in arm and hand in hand - with her mother. All John could see was Elizabeth, a vision in white with a beaming smile. "...wow."

"Exactly." Rodney agreed, sighing wistfully. "I'm so lucky to have Katie."

John raised an eyebrow. "Well, that's definitely an understatement, but I was looking at my fiancee, you know, the _bride_."

"Alright, calm down, Elizabeth looks beautiful!" He held up his hands in defence. "I mean, she's really started to pile on the pounds, but it's not surprising considering she's carrying _your_ baby-"

"Hey! That's my future wife you're criticising! And talk about pot, kettle, black...you can eat more than Ronan when you put your mind to it!"

"It's _brainfood_! If I have to save multiple universes every other day then I need-"

"Boys..." Elizabeth softly admonished, both men startled to see her standing before them. "Could you save this for later? John and I are kind of busy at the moment."

Rodney swallowed, embarrassed. "Sure, of course...we didn't...you look really lovely, you really want to marry this moron-"

John elbowed Rodney into silence, whispering as Father Jacob nodded in greeting to them and began with an opening prayer. "You heard what the good lady said, Rodney..." he coughed and stood up a little straighter, nodding politely at an emotional Mrs. Weir at Elizabeth's side; Elizabeth couldn't help but smile at his nervousness and grasped his hand in comfort.

"It'll be over before you know it." She reassured.

"I don't want it to be over before I know it actually, I want to remember this forever." He smiled shyly. "Still crapping myself a little though...but McKay's right, you do look lovely, more than lovely in fact..." Elizabeth blushed, before grimacing and squeezing John's hand much tighter. "What's wrong?" He asked, concerned.

"Nothing," She waved him off, "bit of backache, that's all, ssh..."

"Are you sure that's all because-"

"My dear friends," Father Jacob, interrupted, smiling at Elizabeth and John, "you have come together in this church so that the Lord may seal and strengthen your love in the presence of the Church's minister and this community. Christ abundantly blesses this love. He has already consecrated you in baptism and now he enriches and strengthens you by a special sacrament so that you may assume the duties of marriage in mutual and lasting blessed is the couple which comes to the marriage altar with the approval and blessings of their families and friends. Who has the honor of presenting this woman to be married to this man?"

Margaret swallowed, overcome with emotion. "I do." Smiling at her daughter through the tears, she went to step back but then seemingly changed her mind and leaned over to John, whispering. "You better love my daughter as much as my James loved me or I'll rip your throat out." She smiled again before going to sit down. Elizabeth bit a grin whilst John blinked in shock.

"And so..." Father Jacob continued, briefly wondering if he should be worried at witnessing a death threat in his church,"...in the presence of the Church, I ask you to state your intentions. John and Elizabeth, have you come here freely and without reservation to give yourselves to each other in marriage?" Elizabeth and John said yes in turn. "Will you love and honor each other as husband and wife for the rest of your lives?" They agreed again. "And, er..." Father Jacob coughed, embarrassed, his eyes flickering to Elizabeth's bump, "...will you accept children lovingly from God and bring them up according to the law of Christ and his Church?"

John smiled, patting Elizabeth's belly affectionately. "Sure thing, Father."

"Right..." The Father raised an unimpressed eyebrow, "...since it is your intention to enter into marriage, join your right hands, and declare your consent before God and his Church." They grinned at each other excitedly as they grasped hands. "John, repeat after me...I, John Michael Sheppard, take you, Elizabeth Anne Weir, for my lawful wife..."

"I, John Michael Sheppard, take you, Elizabeth Anne Weir, for my lawful wife..."

"to have and to hold, from this day forward,"

"for better, for worse,"

"for better, for worse,"

"for richer, for poorer,"

"for richer, for poorer,"

"in sickness and in health,"

"in sickness and in health,"

"until death us do part,"

"until death us do part." John squeezed Elizabeth's hand, his eyes boring into her. Elizabeth smiled softly before gritting her teeth in discomfort.

"I think I'm going to cry." Carson said sniffing; Rodney rolled his eyes before handing his friend a tissue. Rodney glanced at Ronan for stoic support, but sighed as he saw the alien's confused expression.

"Why the look?" Rodney asked, exasperated.

Ronan shrugged. "Who's God and what's Christ?"

"Now, Elizabeth, if you would repeat after me." Father Jacob continued happily. "I, Elizabeth Anne Weir, take you, John Michael Sheppard, for my lawful-"

Elizabeth cut him off, hurrying in pain. "I, Elizabeth Anne Weir, take you, John...John, Michael Sheppard, for my lawful husband..." She rushed.

"Are you okay?" John whispered as the priest spoke.

"I'm fine." She forced out. "To have and hold, from this day-, oh God!" She let out, doubling over in pain.

"Shit...it's happening now, isn't it? Oh my God!"

"Don't swear in front of a priest..." Elizabeth gasped, "...fuck, this hurts."

Margaret got up panicked. "Should I call an ambulance?"

"No, no, no, no, I'm in the dress, I'm down the aisle, we are_ not_ doing this again...from this day forward, for better, for worse-"

"Elizabeth," Father Jacob said concerned, "perhaps it would be best-"

"No I can do this! For richer, for poorer, for..." Elizabeth said desperately before trailing off.

"What? What now?" John grasped her arm.

"Well, either I just wet myself or..." Elizabeth looked up at John in anguish.

"or...oh, crap."

**TBC...**

Reviews are welcome and appreciated as always. I wanted to focus on Elizabeth and her mum for most of the chapter because this story is as much about them as it is about John and Elizabeth and felt more needed to be said before they got married, or attempted to get married at least. :) Oh and I hope I used the phrase 'to flip the bird' correctly, I'm not too good with Americanisms I'm afraid! xx

**TBC...**


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